Limping pullet with swollen hock

[ChickenChaser13]

Hello all. Last Thursday, I noticed one of my 7 month old BCM pullets was sitting on the ground. She would get chased by another chicken and limp herself to a new location where she would sit again. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the hock on her left leg was bigger than her right. No other swelling anywhere and her right leg looks normal. When I touched it, she seemed to kick her leg a little so it could possibly be painful? So I put her in a wire dog crate with food and water and placed her in the coop with the others. She spends the majority of her day sitting down, though I have caught her standing up to eat and drink, but she clearly puts little to no weight on her left leg. The hock doesn't feel that warm to touch but it's got a little yellowish/greenish tinge on the side of it, so maybe bruising from an injury? A possible infection? She still eats and drinks good, poop looks normal etc. She hasn't laid an egg since she's been in isolation but I don't know if that's due to the injury or if she just hasn't laid her first egg yet (Her sisters started laying a few weeks ago). I've been giving her a 1/2 tablet of B-Complex vitamin every day. Everybody gets fed an all-flock feed with oyster shells on the side and clean water everyday. No treats. I also haven't noticed any other symptoms in the other birds. It's been 6 days since she was crated and I really haven't seem any improvement from her, though I've dealt with limping chickens in the years past and know they can take some time to heal. A vet is unfortunately not an option for me. I've included some pictures that I managed to take, hopefully they are clear enough. Thank you all!

 

[Eggcessive]

It does sound like an injury or sprain which could take a few weeks to heal. Meloxicam is an anti inflammatory medication that is prescription on to help with pain and swelling. A warm Epsom salts soak to just the feet and legs might help soothe the leg. Is that a scab on the hock?It would be good if she can remain with the flock in her crate to stay part of the flock. That can make reintegration easier.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

It does sound like an injury or sprain which could take a few weeks to heal. Meloxicam is an anti inflammatory medication that is prescription on to help with pain and swelling. A warm Epsom salts soak to just the feet and legs might help soothe the leg. Is that a scab on the hock?It would be good if she can remain with the flock in her crate to stay part of the flock. That can make reintegration easier.

Thank you! Yes, there does seem to be a scab on the side of the hock, possibly from whenever she injured herself? Not sure. She's in the crate 24/7 within the coop and has taken nicely to it. She just spends her day sitting down. I do let her out once a day to see how she's doing and to keep her bedding clean.

Meloxicam sounds nice but I don't have access to a vet, unfortunately. I've heard mixed things about giving chickens baby aspirin to help with pain and inflammation and have never done it. Would that be an option to give short term?

 

[Eggcessive]

Aspirin is not supposed to be use long term since it can cause GI bleeding. But you can use the low dose 81 mg 1/2 tablet once or twice a day for up to 3 days.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

It does sound like an injury or sprain which could take a few weeks to heal. Meloxicam is an anti inflammatory medication that is prescription on to help with pain and swelling. A warm Epsom salts soak to just the feet and legs might help soothe the leg. Is that a scab on the hock?It would be good if she can remain with the flock in her crate to stay part of the flock. That can make reintegration easier.

Hello @Eggcessive. It's now been 2 weeks of my pullet in crate rest and her condition remains unchanged. I check her leg daily and haven't really seen much difference. When I let her out, she doesn't seem to put much, if any, weight on her left leg and she continues to spend her days sitting down. If she does stand, she keeps her left leg elevated. The swelling in her hock is still the greenish/yellowish color. When I press on it, it feels firm with a little give, but not squishy.

In other news, the scab on her hock seems to be healed and she continues to eat and drink good. She even laid an egg today, the first since she's been in isolation. I attached some updated photos of her leg. I'm hoping this is just a bad injury that is taking it's sweet time to heal. Thanks.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, I agree that it may be a serious injury. It can take 5-7 weeks for injuries or fractures to heal. Some do not get better. I hope that she does eventually heal and get some use out of her leg. Does she have any interaction with the other chickens? Please let us know how she gets along.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

Yes, I agree that it may be a serious injury. It can take 5-7 weeks for injuries or fractures to heal. Some do not get better. I hope that she does eventually heal and get some use out of her leg. Does she have any interaction with the other chickens? Please let us know how she gets along.

Her crate is with the others 24/7. When I let her out, some hens will kind of peck at her, I notice. Today I saw her and a senior hen trying to have a pecking order battle through the cage lol.

Do you think this yellow part on her hock is brusing that is healing? Or could this be some kind of infection?

 

[Eggcessive]

Fat under the skin is yellow. Is there similar on the other hock? It looks like the bruising is still there. I’m not a vet, though. If both hocks were swollen that can be a sign of MS or bacterial arthritis, which may cause yellow exudate under the skin. But for now, I would just wait on some swelling to go down.

 

[ChickenChaser13]

Fat under the skin is yellow. Is there similar on the other hock? It looks like the bruising is still there. I’m not a vet, though. If both hocks were swollen that can be a sign of MS or bacterial arthritis, which may cause yellow exudate under the skin. But for now, I would just wait on some swelling to go down.

Thank you. It's definitely only on her left hock. The other looks good. I will continue with the crate rest and hope for the best.