Sudden Severe Lameness & Swollen Hock

[Darcie29]

About 3 weeks ago, my adult laying hen cut her toe on something. We cleaned it and bandaged it, but the next day or so it looked infected so we started her on antibiotics. This was on her left foot. She was with the other chickens until she was started on antibiotics, but the day we started her on antibiotics she was put in a separate area by herself. It was that day that we noticed she was limping severely on her right foot, the opposite foot of the injury. With being on cage rest, we hoped it would get better with time, maybe a pulled muscle or something. However it got worse, now she wont even bear weight on that foot at all. Still eating and drinking as usual, comb color alternates from pale to fairly normal, but hock is swollen.
I took a couple quick x-rays of her (not very good quality, trying to wrestle a chicken and an xray machine at the same time) and I can't see anything obviously wrong on the shots. I can post the xrays if anyone is interested in seeing them.
I don't think it's Marek's or anything like that, as her leg/foot doesn't seem paralyzed. I also don't think its an infection, as the antibiotics would have cleared that up. Doesn't feel like a slipped tendon, although the swelling could maybe be hiding that? My only guess for now is a dislocation, but I was unable to tell from the xrays.
Any thoughts?
I just wrapped her right leg today, hoping to give her more stability or support to encourage her to walk on it, but she still doesn't want to.
I also gave her a dose of vitamins in her water a few days ago, didn't seem to make a difference but she will be getting more today.
Thanks in advance!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

How old is she? What's her diet like? Chickens can get gout, and arthritis in their feet and legs.

 

[Darcie29]

How old is she? What's her diet like? Chickens can get gout, and arthritis in their feet and legs.

Not sure of her exact age, but my guess is somewhere between 1 and 2 years? Her diet consists of about 30% crushed grain (peas, wheat, barley, canola), 30% commercial layer ration, 20% whole grain (scratch) and 10% or less oyster shells, she usually leaves most of her crushed grain and eats the rest. She also gets some of the scraps that go out to the chickens, which is usually raw/cooked veggies.
Doesn't seem like gout to me, it's not her foot that is swollen, just her hock. She also doesn't have a very good "grab" reflex for my finger on that foot

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be an injury, but chickens can be born with leg bone deformities that can worsen with age. The hock can be one that is commonly affected. Google varus valgus deformity, snd leg bone deformities in poultry. Splinting with vet wrap might give her hock more support, but don’t get it too tight to cut off circulation. Injuries can take several weeks to heal, and some may not heal.

Looking at your hen’s diet, she should be getting layer or all flock feed as 90% of her diet. That will give her 16-20% protein, and a balanced diet. Scratch only has 8% protein. Oyster shell should be separate from food, so she takes what she needs.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Could be a slipped tendon, or even a joint infection. Her diet is heavy in the fat causing grain department. More protein is important for a more balanced diet.

 

[Darcie29]

How old is she? What's her diet like? Chickens can get gout, and arthritis in their feet and legs.[/QUOTE

It could be an injury, but chickens can be born with leg bone deformities that can worsen with age. The hock can be one that is commonly affected. Google varus valgus deformity, snd leg bone deformities in poultry. Splinting with vet wrap might give her hock more support, but don’t get it too tight to cut off circulation. Injuries can take several weeks to heal, and some may not heal.

Looking at your hen’s diet, she should be getting layer or all flock feed as 90% of her diet. That will give her 16-20% protein, and a balanced diet. Scratch only has 8% protein. Oyster shell should be separate from food, so she takes what she needs.

I will look into those for sure. She is still able to pick her oyster shells out of her feed. She picks out what she wants from her feed, and as I said she usually leaves the crushed grain, so she consumes probably 80% ration, 15% whole grain (want to give it to her to help her keep body condition up) and 5% oyster shells, which she picks out of her feed when she wants.
I should also mention that she hasn't laid an egg in over a month, which concerned me at first but the xray didnt show signs of being egg bound (and she would have died by now if that was a problem) or signs of a broken egg inside. Just assuming the lack of eggs if because she isn't feeling well?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Or the time of year. Most egg production stops or slows this time of year. Otherwise most unwell hens stop laying.

 

[chickens really]

Oyster shell should be in a separate bowl and not mixed with feed..Possibly getting too much Calcium. I would cut back on the snacks and get her eating her balanced diet.
Best of luck.

 

[rebrascora]

Is there a reason why you are giving this particular diet?
I agree with the others that she is not getting a healthy balance. Mixing it up like this will just lend to them picking out the bits they like and either wasting a lot by billing the rest out or leaving the less popular stuff so that eventually they have nothing left and have to eat that, creating a situation where they have a fluctuation in nutritional intake over the course of several day/weeks.
Chickens will almost always eat scratch over their layer ration..... just like children (and some adults.... myself included) will usually eat sweets given the opportunity rather than a healthier option. The higher carbohydrate content in the scratch and grains, combined with limited exercise of being penned or incapacitated like this hen is, can cause them to become obese. I have processed layers that were fed too much scratch and the quantity of yellow fatty deposits around their organs as well as a thick abdominal layer was pretty shocking and a real eye opener for me.

You would be much better off giving them ad lib layer/grower or flock raiser feed, a small amount of scratch as a treat every now and then scattered on the ground so that they have to work for it (it's not called scratch for nothing) and the oyster shell in a separate container for them to access as and when they need it.

Diet and lack of exercise can have an effect on a birds body, just like it does ours and I too would be concerned about gout. What breed is she and what does she weigh?

You might consider giving her regular soaks in a warm Epsom salt bath if she is not too uncomfortable with the idea. It may benefit the other foot with the injury too. A chicken sling might be helpful to take some weight off her legs for some of the time.
Does the swollen hock articulate in the usual manner if you manipulate it.... Does it look like it is causing pain or just weak? Can you take some footage of her walking and upload it to You Tube or the like and post a link, so that we have a better idea of what you are seeing?

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

The antibiotic you are giving may not be appropriate for the infection she has. Unfortunately a single antibiotic does not necessarily target a causative organism---we hope for the best when we give one but it could be off-target and actually allow an infection to get worse and perhaps spread to other areas.
Not saying this is the case with your little lady but it could be possible.
Also, have to agree that the feed you are giving your girls may not be the most balanced. I know you mean well by taking nutrition into your own hands but poor nutrition can lead to so many imbalances that it's hard to know where to start when looking for a cause of an illness.
Commercial feed has been developed with proper nutrition in mind and provides everything the birds need, especially the layer formulation for laying birds. Yes, we toss them treats occasionally because it's fun and they love it but they don't need it. Scratch, mealworms, etc, are basically party food and unnecessary but, given the choice, they will overindulge and be the worse for it.
Wishing your girl a speedy recovery!