A few days ago we noticed one of our Rhode Island Reds right legs was bent outward a little and she tends to walk by putting that foot directly under her, or even a little further to the left, tripping over how own feet occasionally. We never noticed this when she was younger, but over the past couple weeks they've been growing fast and it's become obvious. She seems to run fine, and her gait straightens out a fair amount when she's doing so. She's capable of putting her whole weight on it, as I've seen her stand on it to scratch her face frequently. In the past couple days she's started limping on it a little, as it seems to become more uncomfortable. When we first noticed it she didn't seem to be in any pain and we could touch and move the leg fine. Now she seems a little more annoyed if we try to check it out.
I can't find much information on what to do with chickens at this age. Most of what I've found is for young chicks or seem like unrelated problems. I saw somewhere mention that you can make a brace to space her legs properly and she'll straighten out over a few days, but no actual information on how to do that or if that's actually for this problem exactly. A few other posts said to just wait it out and see if she grows into it, but I'm starting to wonder about the credibility of that advice. We've put down some extra bedding to try to help her not land funny, but at that angle it's just a matter of time before she messes it up, if she doesn't grow out of it quickly.
Any idea what we should do? Is the "wait and see if she grows out of it" really an option? Or should I be actively trying to straighten it with a brace?
I can't find much information on what to do with chickens at this age. Most of what I've found is for young chicks or seem like unrelated problems. I saw somewhere mention that you can make a brace to space her legs properly and she'll straighten out over a few days, but no actual information on how to do that or if that's actually for this problem exactly. A few other posts said to just wait it out and see if she grows into it, but I'm starting to wonder about the credibility of that advice. We've put down some extra bedding to try to help her not land funny, but at that angle it's just a matter of time before she messes it up, if she doesn't grow out of it quickly.
Any idea what we should do? Is the "wait and see if she grows out of it" really an option? Or should I be actively trying to straighten it with a brace?
