limping

[janeyo]

The new friendly girl is limping, getting worse (3 days now). Today she is reluctant to put any weight on her leg at all. But she is now being chased by the old girls who have clearly sensed all is not well. She is taking to hiding in the nest box, I suspect to keep away from them.

I have had a good look at her and the only thing I think may be wrong is a small lump behind the toe that sticks out at the back. Which then touches the ground when she puts her foot on it.

Trip to the vet? Or doctor her up at home? Any thoughts? Thanks

[Bramble-Poultry]

firstly, lump? is there a splinter or similar in there? if so, you could try and remove the splinter, give her a bit of purple spray or iodine to sterilise it and send her on her way.

if its something that has got infected (i'm thinking of a condition called bumble foot) then you really should get her to the vet and get it dealt with as bumble foot is bacterial and can spread, literally eating away at the flesh on her foot. very painful and can effect them for the rest of their lives as that bit of raw skin is a site for any infection going.

Your vet (if he is the right type) will look at the foot, possibly lance the lump to see what comes out, if its infected then he wil prescribe either Tylan or Baytril depending upon what he has to hand and whether he wants you to treat the one bird, or all of them as a precaution.

If he does give you antibiotics, check with him the egg withdrawal period as you dont want to be eating antibiotic laden eggs!

[motherhen]

If the lump is hot then usually it's an infection, if she is being bullied by the older girls then she may have damaged herself trying to get away. Is she being driven from the food by the others it could be a sign of weakness? Pop another feeder out of sight of the others and see if she is hungry. Sometimes the smallest damage in the skin can let infection in, it then seals over leaving the puss trapped this is very painful but is easily treated.

[janeyo]

well we took her to the vets who luckily has chickens of her own and she thinks it's a sprain, on account of her not limping at all after resting in the box for an hour or so and it getting worse throughout the day, and no obvious signs of any lumps or wounds. She has has an anti-inflam injection and got to keep an eye on her.

Bless her - she laid an egg in the box on the way home

[polo]

Ahh, bless her. Hope its heals soon

Polo

[Suechooks]

You can use Metacam for hens if it doesn't respond to the anti-inflamm injection. As always not licensed but is used.