This RIR hen acts like she can hardly move. She kinda waddles and her stance seems real wide, like she can't stand up to well. She is still eating. She hasn't hardly layed the past 8-10 months. I've had her about a year and was told she could be around 4 when I got her. She has shown mild signs of this before but now that it has turned colder it seems like she is worse. Could she just be old and arthritic? Her toes also look like they turn out and her feet have looked swollen and kinda knotty around the joints. Any ideas?
It's possible that she could be an internal layer or have egg yolk peritonitis. She could have gout in her feet which could cause them to look swollen and gnarly. A close up picture of her feet might help. Here are some links about gou, and egg yolk peritonitis: http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/232/gout
