[snowie]

Hi, My three hens all want to sleep in the nest boxes. I now block the boxes off before they retire for the night, and if they don't move the obstruction, and get into the nest box, they seem okay using the perches.
However, one of them has a problem with a leg. She will not put it down, and cannot put any weight on it. No sign of anything obviously wrong with the leg, i.e. not swollen, cut, splinters etc. She eats, drinks and hops around okay, and is our best layer. Advice from friends, feed supplier suggests leaving it for a few weeks to see if it improves.
I feel really guilty moving her off the nest box and on to a perch when she has only one good leg to perch on.
So, can she happily sleep on one leg, or should I just let her sleep in the nest box? (Do I continue to chase the others?) And any advice on her leg? I have read 'limping chicken' posts on here, but none seem to end off with the final outcome of how the problems were resolved.

[ANHBUC]

She may have injured it so it would be best to let her rest it up.  You can also give her a warm bath which should ease it a little, just make sure she is dry before she retires for the night.  Gently towel dry and hairdryer on a cool setting is best.  I hope she gets better soon.   

[jhub]

My cream legbar went lame at the weekend and like your hen there were no overt signs of anything amiss and she shuffles around using her hock to weight bear on the affected side. I put a Duoderm dressing on the hock for protection and replaced it every 48 hours- this type of dressing can be left in place for much longer but I wanted to inspect the area more frequently. Today she has an abscess on the hock joint which the vet washed out and redressed, she is on antibiotics and anti inflammatories but if the infection has entered the bone or joint there may be no option but to cull her. Interestingly the affected leg is not red and inflamed although the hock area is now swollen. She has been eating, drinking, pooing and laying as normal throughout.

I hope your hen has nothing more than a simple, self limiting injury but it might be useful (and reassuring) for a vet to examine her if the problem persists - personally I wouldn't want to leave it for a 'few weeks' without a vet's opinion.

Also keep an eye on her interaction with your other hens as I noticed my hen was being bullied by the others - especially when she wanted to eat, and they continued to go for her despite putting out additional feeders. She can't run away because of the limp so I've had to isolate her from the others by dividing the run- they can still see each other but they can't get to her.

Good luck and I hope she gets better soon.

[compostqueen]

I wouldn't leave it for weeks either. I wouldn't worry that she sleeps in the nest box. Just keep it clean for her
If she's limping then something is wrong and if it's nothing to worry about then it would clear up pretty quickly. If the limp persists then a trip to the vet is a good idea. There is a list of recommended poultry vets on here (see Stickies)

[Jomtie]

Our copper black was limping but no sign of injury. We took her to the vet and he couldn't feel anything but he x-rayed it and she had fractured her toe. We kept her in our little coop during the day to stop her moving about too much and then put her back in the main coop with the other girls at night. We did this for a week and then gradually let her spend a bit more time out as she was able to put weight on it.

[ehs284]

Let her have the nest box; it's jumping down from the perch which stop healing and cause pain.