[Arnfields]

My poor little Matlida was hobbling really badly this morning when I went out to check on them.  She is hunched and unhappy looking and is trying so hard not to put any weight on her left leg.  I can't see any injury or scaly leg.  From what I can tell by how she is standing, it seems it could be higher up?  More in her 'hip/thigh' area? 

Does anyone have any ideas to help her, she is our scrawniest girl, still hasn't got all her feathers since we rescued them in September.  It is difficult to tell if she is laying or not as I have yet to catch her at it, so to speak.

I really don't want to lose another girl (Penny died in November), plus it looks like a couple of the others may be starting with a cold

[Flowerpower136]

Oh poor thing!

Might be worth a trip to the vet to check if anything is broken, or if it's just a sprain/strain get some antiinflamatory if needed.  She sounds like she's in pain, so needs help.

Probably Lizzie will advise you, I think she's dealt with every injury it's possible for an ex-batt to have.

Hope she get's over it.

[carolbriar]

I had a similar thing with my Barnvelder.  I had only had her for 10 days and I noticed she wasn't putting much weight on one of her legs.  Took her to the vet the next day as she wasn't able to walk properly and he checked her over and couldn't find any reason for it.  He thought it might be further up and said she looked uncomfortable.  He gave her an anti inflammatory injection and said to restrict the area which she could hobble in.  I kept her in the coop with food and water for a week and although she was still eating and drinking - not as much as she might, she was not a happy girl.  She could barely stand - most of the time she sat and I put the food near her.  If she did try standing then her wing went down to try and help her balance but it didn't work.  In the end the vet thought it was kinder to put her to sleep as she was definately worse.  She couldn't go on the way she was.  Afterwards he said he could see no obvious reason for it at all.  It broke my heart doing it - I had never had hens before and I had only had them for 10 days!  I have a wonderful vet who has ex batts himself so is very good with hens.  I hope it doesn't come to that for you - maybe it is something that will clear up but for what its worth, my advice would be take her to the vet.

[beulah59]

Do let us know how you get on ...

[Arnfields]

thanks for all your input, Tilda was seen by the vet this morning who thinks it is just a sprain and she needs rest but has also diagnosed egg peritonitis and given antibiotics by injection. She is now in the spare room in a make shift run so we can keep a close eye on her. Fingers crossed we caught the peri in time

[too many girls]

strewth, good job you took her to the vet then, hope she gets better soon.

[Flowerpower136]

Blimey! :blink:

So, how did he diagnose that?

What are the symptoms?

[Arnfields]

Blimey! :blink:

So, how did he diagnose that?

What are the symptoms?

well, he said she was bloated and hot underneath and as I can't be sure who is laying what and there have been a few soft shelled eggs recently...I do hope she will be ok!

[Flowerpower136]

So do I, poor thing.

We have problems with soft shells, and I never know who's laid what.  Worries me that I might not spot it in time if it happened.

[Arnfields]

I am, weirdly, kind of glad she had a bad leg or we might have lost her to peritonitis and never known. Will keep you posted on her progress either way

[Jeanette]

Well done in taking her to a vet that can sort her out. Hope she soon recovers

[Arnfields]

Quick update. She was quiet this morning but we bathed her as she had poop stuck to her booty and she perked up some. Think she may be egg bound as she has a twitchy vent as tho she is wanting to lay. Going to give her a proper inspection when we get home this eve. At least she is eating well, but then we did give her banana and pear with her breakfast

[hillfooter]

Um? sounds like your hen is scouring which is constant clenching and relaxing of her vent possibly as a result of difficulty passing droppings, or having diarrhoea which would tie in with the dirty rear end.  If there's an egg you should probably be able to feel it through the upper wall of the vent.

Just make sure that there's no sign of a prolapse where the wall of the oviduct is turned inside out causiing a blockage.  Soiled rear ends can be as a result of a prolapsed oviduct or anus.  In most cases it can be seen protruding through the vent like a red shiny small balloon.   If your chicken has a prolapse a visit to the vet is advisable as it is possible that a stitch might be needed to hold it in place while it heals.  I've not found haemeroid cream, as sometimes recommended, to be effective in cases I've treated.

She could well be a "false layer" where the yolk of the egg is passed internally in the body cavity and usually absorbed but can cause yolk peritonitis.  False layers frequently visit the nest but fail to lay normally.  It can be as a result of infection as a chick.

"False layers" should not be confused with "Internal layers" who are are hens who lay fully formed eggs inside their abdomens and is usually caused by an irregularity of the wave like motion of the oviduct which normally moves the egg down the duct.  Birds with this problem often have an upright penguin like stance.  There's no cure known for this.

If your chx is just coming into lay it is possible that a reproductive problem will clear up as her body adjusts but they also can be chronic and serious too.  You mention soft shelled eggs which can also be connected with reproduction disorders.  It's a bit concerning that you say your hens have colds.  Hens don't have common colds but they can have several respiratory infections which produce cold like symptoms.  Chronic respiratory disease or Myoplasmosis (sometimes called mycoplasma or MG) is a common infection.  This should not be taken lightly and needs antibiotics from a vet to treat and even when the symptoms go can result in birds being carriers causing fresh outbreaks during periods of stress (such as moult).  If your chx have MG it is not inconceivable that the bacterial infection can invade the reproductive organs too so the two sets of symptoms could be connected.

Regrettably rehoming Exbatts is fraught with potential problems of ill health and unless you have some experience in poultry keeping and recognising sick birds at the point of sale it's a bit of a lottery.  I realise that many people on this web site have taken on exbatts with the very best of motives and had no problems and derived much satisfaction from their successful rehabilitation but you should also recognise that it might not work out as well for everyone particularly the inexperienced.

Best wishes
HF

[Arnfields]

Hi HF. Thanks for all the info, I can't see anything that looks like a prolapse and vet saw her yesterday and said it was peritonitis, I have antibiotics for her but if it is peri I am steeling myself for the worst. I guess I am hoping it is an egg or false lay as that would give me some hope. We will keep a close eye on all our girls, at least we have a vet that understands and knows chickens, and he works saturdays!

[hillfooter]

If it is Sterile Peritonitis you could be lucky and it will clear up, although if it recurs the only cure would be to stop her ovulating which isn't an easy or cheap process to do surgically but see http://www.smallestsmallholding.com/chicken-moult-and-chicken-health/ for a post from someine who has experienced this problem.

Regards
HF