Sorry in advance for the novel. I wanted to provide as full information as I can think of.
Jane Aust-Hen is a 3.5 year old Barred Plymouth Rock. We live in NYC and have a large coop (4x8) and enclosed run (8x12) for our 7 hens as well as occasional full yard access.
History:
She became egg bound in her first month of laying. An avian vet suggested that we put her on hormones to prevent future laying, but after home care we opted not to go this route and she has been otherwise healthy until this fall.
This fall around the time they were molting Jane started showing signs of internal laying: penguin posture, uninterest in food, etc. We brought her in for a few days and treated with Epsom salt baths and rest. We could not tell if there was an egg, but she recovered without laying and we returned her to the flock.
2-3 weeks later, we identified an impacted crop. She came in again and we withheld food and massaged the crop, feeding grit, coconut oil and water until it resolved, which took 3-4 days (longer than I hoped or felt comfortable). We returned her to the flock and she was eating, but at this point her weight was significantly down.
Now:
2 weeks ago we noticed she was not really walking around and hiding in corners of the run. Her one foot seemed slightly wollen but no visible lesions. We brought her in to rest and observe. Her foot got much more swollen into the ankle and hot within the first day. We began treating with Baytril 10% at this point. The heat and swelling went down after 78 hours (though has not fully returned to normal). At some point her other foot began to look swollen, though with no heat and not as bad as the first foot had been.
We've ended the Baytril after 10 days (yesterday). She's bearing weight now, though with a slight limp, we have reintegrated her with the flock during the day when we can observe and she comes in at night (because of the low temps at night). She's waking around, pecking and preening normally when outside. She's still not interested in pellets or even mashed, but will easily eat eggs and yogurt. Her poop was runny but now alternates between runny and normal.
I have a feeling this is a bigger issue causing these problems, perhaps the internal laying or cancer or something? Wondering if anyone has suggestions outside of treating what comes up when it does.
Attached is a photo of her feet now, which are both swollen into the ankles. I did not take one at the worst. She did lose a scale on her knuckle during the worst of her swelling which I believe is not unusual? We are keeping that clean despite letting her out in the day. I haven't wanted to wrap it because the feet are already swollen, but happy to rethink that choice.
Thanks for any thoughts or advice!
Jane Aust-Hen is a 3.5 year old Barred Plymouth Rock. We live in NYC and have a large coop (4x8) and enclosed run (8x12) for our 7 hens as well as occasional full yard access.
History:
She became egg bound in her first month of laying. An avian vet suggested that we put her on hormones to prevent future laying, but after home care we opted not to go this route and she has been otherwise healthy until this fall.
This fall around the time they were molting Jane started showing signs of internal laying: penguin posture, uninterest in food, etc. We brought her in for a few days and treated with Epsom salt baths and rest. We could not tell if there was an egg, but she recovered without laying and we returned her to the flock.
2-3 weeks later, we identified an impacted crop. She came in again and we withheld food and massaged the crop, feeding grit, coconut oil and water until it resolved, which took 3-4 days (longer than I hoped or felt comfortable). We returned her to the flock and she was eating, but at this point her weight was significantly down.
Now:
2 weeks ago we noticed she was not really walking around and hiding in corners of the run. Her one foot seemed slightly wollen but no visible lesions. We brought her in to rest and observe. Her foot got much more swollen into the ankle and hot within the first day. We began treating with Baytril 10% at this point. The heat and swelling went down after 78 hours (though has not fully returned to normal). At some point her other foot began to look swollen, though with no heat and not as bad as the first foot had been.
We've ended the Baytril after 10 days (yesterday). She's bearing weight now, though with a slight limp, we have reintegrated her with the flock during the day when we can observe and she comes in at night (because of the low temps at night). She's waking around, pecking and preening normally when outside. She's still not interested in pellets or even mashed, but will easily eat eggs and yogurt. Her poop was runny but now alternates between runny and normal.
I have a feeling this is a bigger issue causing these problems, perhaps the internal laying or cancer or something? Wondering if anyone has suggestions outside of treating what comes up when it does.
Attached is a photo of her feet now, which are both swollen into the ankles. I did not take one at the worst. She did lose a scale on her knuckle during the worst of her swelling which I believe is not unusual? We are keeping that clean despite letting her out in the day. I haven't wanted to wrap it because the feet are already swollen, but happy to rethink that choice.
Thanks for any thoughts or advice!
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