# Chicken limping, foot turned in



## i8theburger (Oct 27, 2014)

One of our red Sussex hens started limping about five days ago. Her right leg is the problem, and her right foot is turned in almost 70 degrees. Got progressively worse each day. They are all 2.5 years old. She now won't even go up the ramp into the coop now.
Should she be separated from the flock?
Should she have aspirin?
I could build another little room within the coop to keep her separate but close. Not sure about that? Perhaps put her in a small cage in the garage? I can post pictures if that helps. A small video?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I would be concerned that there is a dislocation or break. If you have a vet that will work with you an x-ray would be a good idea.

In the meant time, examine that leg. Feel for abnormalities and heat. If you compare the good leg against the bad you might be able to isolate the problem.

Yes, put her up some where safe. You can dissolve a 325 mg aspirin in a gallon of water.


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## i8theburger (Oct 27, 2014)

So it was the left foot. She got up into the coop the night before last so I thought she was on the mend. However last night she stayed down in the run again. And this morning she was hunkered down in the corner since last night and would not move. We decided to move her into a cage and into the garage where it is warmer. She is now breathing heavily. She would not eat scratch, food or water this morning. Vet will arrive here this afternoon. Hope it is not too late. Her right leg seems under her as normal but her left leg seems to be back.


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## i8theburger (Oct 27, 2014)

She has been in the cage for 30 mins now. Panting heavily the entire time. Still had not taken a drink or had a bite of food. We have a camera on her.
http://chickens.thewilson5.ca


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## littlelimabean (Oct 21, 2014)

Oh she looks like she feels really bad. I have experienced the exact same thing you were speaking about. She was a RIR started limping, unable to roost and I took her in. I thought she was going to die for sure she ate and drank very little too. I don't know how but she turned herself around and lived for six more months and then succumbed to internal laying. I see that your girls comb appears dark, that is almost always a bad sign. I am glad you have a vet coming to see her. Try feeding her different things, to see if you can perk her interest in food. She has to eat. Try some pasta, cooked rice, ham. Anything to make her eat. 

I had another RIR who was limping (limping for months, but no obvious injury) and I brought her to the vet and all he did was put her on metacam for inflammation. He said if she is not better in 2 weeks bring her back in. She died before she even finished the medication regimen. I don't know what killed her, but I assumed it was cancer somewhere. At that visit my vet mentioned how he had been seeing a rise in Mareks disease. I wish I could be of more help to you. I hope you can fix her the important thing is keeping her comfortable and you are doing that.


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## littlelimabean (Oct 21, 2014)

Oh she looks like she feels really bad. I have experienced the exact same thing you were speaking about. She was a RIR started limping, unable to roost and I took her in. I thought she was going to die for sure she ate and drank very little too. I don't know how but she turned herself around and lived for six more months and then succumbed to internal laying. I see that your girls comb appears dark, that is almost always a bad sign. I am glad you have a vet coming to see her. Try feeding her different things, to see if you can perk her interest in food. She has to eat. Try some pasta, cooked rice, ham. Anything to make her eat. 

I had another RIR who was limping (limping for months, but no obvious injury) and I brought her to the vet and all he did was put her on metacam for inflammation. He said if she is not better in 2 weeks bring her back in. She died before she even finished the medication regimen. I don't know what killed her, but I assumed it was cancer somewhere. At that visit my vet mentioned how he had been seeing a rise in Mareks disease. I wish I could be of more help to you. I hope you can fix her the important thing is keeping her comfortable and you are doing that.


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## hockeychick (Jul 2, 2012)

I lost a hen to worms - capillaria and heterkaris - and one of her first sypmtoms was that she had difficulty walking. She eventually lost the ability to walk or hold herself up, even though she wasn't paralyzed. I thought Marek's, but the necropsy showed that the was infested with worms. Internal laying can also make walking difficult.

I'm glad you brought her inside. Keep her warm, and get electrolytes into her!


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