leg warm to the touch

[Chicks4fun2]

Ok so my chicken woke up lame this morning. She made her way out of the coop but is limping and one of my other chickens is bulling her. Her right leg, is the leg she is favoring and it appears to be swollen and warm to the touch. I attached some pics so you can see how swollen it is. it is definitely warm... I gave her half of a baby aspirin and put some electrolytes in her water... Is there any thing else I can do? At first I didn't think my other girls were picking on her but my other RR is being mean... should I separate her from the flock. She already is my most anxious bird and I hate to make it worse... any advise? thanks in advance... oh and should I be worried about her leg being warm? There are no signs of a cut or anything on her foot. Could it be just a sprain... I was worried about the warmth being an infection of some sort... HELP!

 

[Eggcessive]

Her right foot does look a nit swollen, but between her toes on both feet look to have swelling that might be bumble foot. Can you take a picture of the bottoms of her feet for any dark spots and swelling?

 

[Chicks4fun2]

i looked for bumble foot and the undersides of her feet look great... the joint in her right foot is warm and the her left well its... cold... not sure what it could be.

 

[MrsBrooke]

I would separate her someplace warm, dim, and quiet... Like in a dog crate in your garage. Leaving her out with the flock will encourage her to "act normal" to avoid being picked on, which could injure her foot further.

If you *gently* manipulate the toes/ankle, does she appear to be in any distress? It's possible for chickens to injure themselves getting off the roost or twisting an ankle just like a human can.

If you determine she's injured her poor, little foot, you can build a "chicken sling/hammock" as seen here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/713499/my-chicken-sling-pic ... This will allow her to gradually start putting weight back on her foot as she heals.

Take a look at her eyes... Do you see any irregular edges on her pupil or color differences?

Look at the bottom of her foot pad... Do you see any evidence of a black scab?

Hope that helps!

MrsB

 

[Chicks4fun2]

im gonna soak her foot and check again for bumble foot again and keep her separated for the night... I took closer look at a couple of my other birds and they DO have bumblefoot! Ahhh !!!! I'm gonna have my work cut out for me this week! They fortunately have no symptoms other than the scab...

 

[Chicks4fun2]

So soaked her feet tonight and inspected again and...no bumble foot, but still swelling and I noticed a bruise now...could the warmth be from just a sprain?

 

[Chicks4fun2]

now this is kinda off topic but since i noticed one of my birds was limping i started to pay closer attention to my other birds and i did notice some bumble foot sores my other hens... Now should I remove them or wait till its an issue? I would have never noticed if my other hen didn't sprain her foot. they are not limping or showing any symptoms...

 

[Eggcessive]

I don't treat bumblefoot unless there is limping, pain, or an abscess. Swelling and heat in the foot canbe a sign of a sprain, mycoplasma synovitis, and articular gout. MS is an infection of the joints, and it usually causes swelling of the upper leg joints as well as the foot. You may want to pen the chicken up in a small area with food and water for 2-3 weeks, or in a crate inside the coop with the others. Put some vitamins in her water.

 

[Chicks4fun2]

how long does it take a sprained ankle to heal? ... just wondering how long should I be expecting to keep her separated from the flock.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sprains can take a few weeks to heal, but you could keep her in the coop in a cage with food and water to remain part of the flock. Here are some links to read about MS and gout:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/99/mycoplasma-synoviae-infection-ms-infectious-synovitis/
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/232/gout/