Are Her Toenails the Problem?

[Grecia]

You know, looking at the photos again, her scales do seem quite raised. What makes you think it's not scaly leg mites? Have you tried covering her legs and feet in Vaseline?

It's likely that her nails grew too long because she can't walk well. I would trim a little off of them with dog nail clippers.

I have an old hen with arthritis (gout in her case) and I have been giving her tart cherry extract capsules for the past year. Even though the swelling in her feet hasn't gone down she is no longer stumbling and can now keep up with everyone else. I also switched the feed from layer pellets to chick starter to reduce the amount of calcium she gets (she doesn't need it because she doesn't lay eggs anymore).

These are the capsules I give her:https://www.amazon.com/Nutricost-Cherry-Extract-3000mg-Capsules/dp/B07TD6KJS3?

She gets one 3000mg capsule in the morning and one at night. I started by forcing her beak open and popping it in her mouth, but now she takes it out of my hand on her own and she looks forward to it every day.

Stinky Acres, my cherry extract capsules arrived from Amazon today, so I am going to start giving them to my hen tomorrow morning. Thanks for the link, because my local stores don't carry them. I took one tonight, myself. Do you give your hen the entire capsule, or do you break the outer part in half and just put the cherry powder it contains in your girl's food? I read that the capsule covering (gel-like or cellulose-ish) could be toxic to chickens or cause a blockage? So I wasn't sure which method you use. I thought you meant you gave her the entire capsule, both the outside that holds the powder in and the powder within. I thought I'd try putting one inside a blueberry tomorrow for her. Do you think that would work?

 

[StinkyAcres]

Stinky Acres, my cherry extract capsules arrived from Amazon today, so I am going to start giving them to my hen tomorrow morning. Thanks for the link, because my local stores don't carry them. I took one tonight, myself. Do you give your hen the entire capsule, or do you break the outer part in half and just put the cherry powder it contains in your girl's food? I read that the capsule covering (gel-like or cellulose-ish) could be toxic to chickens or cause a blockage? So I wasn't sure which method you use. I thought you meant you gave her the entire capsule, both the outside that holds the powder in and the powder within. I thought I'd try putting one inside a blueberry tomorrow for her. Do you think that would work?

I give the entire capsule, casing and all, to my hen. She's never had a problem in the year I've been giving them to her. I'd start with just one capsule a day for a few days to make sure she takes it okay then you can start giving the full dose.