One of my barred rocks went suddenly lame 2 days ago. She was fine in the morning, but was limping in the evening. Her left inside toe is swollen. I've attached a couple of pics to show what it looks like.
There is no scab or open wound visible on the swollen area. Her scales are not lifted, and there is no discharge/flaking/blood seeping through pores. She cannot bend this toe at all.
My coop does sit on a concrete slab to keep the coyotes, foxes, and snakes out. I put down DE and the litter is a decent layer of hay. The roost they jump down from (of course they do not use the ladder) is about 2 1/2 feet off the ground.
Some of my younger hens have limped around a bit from being chased off the uppermost roots by my older hens. They all healed well in a little time, but none of them had any swelling and no broken toes.
Could this simply be a broken toe? I am treating her for scaly leg mites with oil and petroleum jelly, and DE dusts on everything (including the other girls). My lame hen also got a nice spa bath in warm soapy water and then ACV in warm water with a nice toothbrush scrub to boot.
I have always treated my hens personally. They have been very low maintenance minus one hen with an abscess on her abdomen and an unfortunate fly population that was trying to live inside it.
Is there anything else this swelling could indicate?
Thanks for any and all advice!
Christa Richey
There is no scab or open wound visible on the swollen area. Her scales are not lifted, and there is no discharge/flaking/blood seeping through pores. She cannot bend this toe at all.
My coop does sit on a concrete slab to keep the coyotes, foxes, and snakes out. I put down DE and the litter is a decent layer of hay. The roost they jump down from (of course they do not use the ladder) is about 2 1/2 feet off the ground.
Some of my younger hens have limped around a bit from being chased off the uppermost roots by my older hens. They all healed well in a little time, but none of them had any swelling and no broken toes.
Could this simply be a broken toe? I am treating her for scaly leg mites with oil and petroleum jelly, and DE dusts on everything (including the other girls). My lame hen also got a nice spa bath in warm soapy water and then ACV in warm water with a nice toothbrush scrub to boot.
I have always treated my hens personally. They have been very low maintenance minus one hen with an abscess on her abdomen and an unfortunate fly population that was trying to live inside it.
Is there anything else this swelling could indicate?
Thanks for any and all advice!
Christa Richey
