Unsecure chicken perches

[Raina]

Hi all,

 

Yet another problem with Lady Lay.

 

I let the girls out this morning and i didn't see anything wrong with them

 

But as i was trying to get the girls in the Eglu (needed to move them to another part of the garden)LL just would not move,she looked like she had no neck and her tail was down,so i showed her some Lettuce and she tried to fly over with a limp, i tried to look at her legs but couldn't see anything wrong with them.

 

Just before i came on the computer it looked like she was limping with both legs (if that makes sense) and trying to flap about the run (she only did it if she had more than half of the run to walk)

 

Anyone know what's wrong with her/Is there anything i can do?

 

I know it sounds cruel but i can't take her to the vets as last time we took her it cost us a fortune just for the vet to see her (they charged us £40 to get a rat PTS)

 

I was thinking of taking out the perches and filling up the poo tray with sawdust for tonight

Edited January 26, 2010 by Guest

[Raina]

Me & my sister are going to get a better look at her legs in a min,

 

I'm just really hoping she's got a bit of woodchip stuck in her foot or she's sprained her leg (Like she did last time she fell through the gap on the perches)

[The Dogmother]

Check her for any obvious injuries Raina, especially on the bottom of her feet.

 

There are two possible causes (apart from a cut or infection); 1. that she has sprained it and just needs extra calcium and a rest 2. that she has an enormous egg on the way, which is pressing on th nerves which control her legs.

[Raina]

Thanks Claret

 

She's had a bit of trouble Laying yesterday (and was all hunched up)

 

There was an longish egg in the nest box this morning but i don't think it was hers

 

My mum thinks that when she was s"Ooops, word censored!"ing at the floor she could have gotten a sharp bit of woodchip stuck in her foot

[Raina]

UPDATE:

 

Me & my sister have just had a good look at her and can't see anything wrong.

 

She isn't limping as bad as she was earlier but she's still limping,There was what looked like a sharp bit of sawdust on her foot so we took that off and sprayed her legs with some purple spray just to be on the safe side.

 

She didn't mind me touching her legs either

 

She's now in the nest box and seems to like her Perch-less eglu even more now

 

If she's still limping in a couple of days we will have to take her to the vets

[The Dogmother]

Good call Raina, the only thing to watch out for is any sign of infection in her foot, so check it a couple of times a day if you can for any swelling or hotness.

[Raina]

I keep checking on her but she doesn't want to leave the Eglu

 

And she's still managed to find somewhere to perch

[LisaP]

Sorry Raina I can't really add anything to the advice already given - just wanted to say I hope Lady Lay is on the mend soon.

 

Thank you for your reply to my post.

 

Lisa P

[Raina]

No problem Lisa

 

another quick update:

 

Lady lay seems to be much better today but she's still finding places to perch (the Glug & Nest Box)

 

Her foot/leg doesn't look swollen and she isn't limping as bad as she was the other day

 

I read on another forum to put 1 crushed up aspirin tablet in with a gallon of water which seems to of helped her a bit.

 

We were going to take her to the vets yesterday but we decided not to as her limp was no where near as bad as it was on day 1 if she's still not any better by Monday we WILL take her to the vets

[The Dogmother]

Good call Raina, it's usually a sprain when they do that, but best to keep a close eye on her, an infection like Bumblefoot can progress quickly.

[Raina]

Hi Clare,

 

How can i tell if she has bumble foot?

 

I've been checking on her all day,i even got up extra early this morning to check on her!

 

I was going to put her in the smaller coop but my mum's filled it up with stuff

 

She hasn't laid an egg either the past couple of days

[The Dogmother]

If she has bumblefoot then ther will be an obvious swelling and hot area on the bottom of her foot - it is an inward growing abcess usually caused by an infected wound or damage by a hard object. Other animals get it too.

[Raina]

Thanks,

 

Her foot didn't look swollen or felt hot, Will have to have another look later

[The Dogmother]

Bumblefoot is far less common than a sprain, so don't worry too much.

[Raina]

That's good then

 

I couldn't see anything when she let me look and she still didn't mind me looking at her legs and feet probably cuz we were giving her sweetcorn

[Raina]

Some More Good News.

 

Lady Lay is still limping but you can't really notice it unless you watch her for ages.

 

She even came running over today for some corn without the help from her wings

 

I set up the CCTV but might have to move it cuz all you can see is there butts

 

But still haven't had any eggs from her the past couple of days

[LisaP]

That's great news Raina, I'm glad she's continuing to improve

 

Do you think your girls are all asking if their bums look big on the CCTV

 

Lisa P

[Raina]

That's great news Raina, I'm glad she's continuing to improve

 

Do you think your girls are all asking if their bums look big on the CCTV

 

Lisa P

[The Dogmother]

Glad to hear it Raina

[chick wiggle]

 

Do you think your girls are all asking if their bums look big on the CCTV

 

Lisa P

 

 

Thats great news raina, glad to hear shes getting better

[Raina]

Well she must be on the mend, i caught her scratching about in the woodchip today

 

Oh and Orakiah decided to move the camera for me, she ran into it this morning

 

So i've moved it again today so it's now pointing towards the nest box so i can see who's laying. i did take some pictures lastnight of the CCTV using my camera so will try and upload those

 

EDIT:

 

The pictures didn't come out as good as i thought they would

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051727&id=1152268122&l=9548d34bac

[Raina]

Well hopefully this'll be my last update.

 

Lady Lay is MUCh better now, She was running about alot this morning trying to take some food from Orakiah

 

So it looks like she's on the mend

 

But we still haven't had any eggs from her

[The Dogmother]

Don't worry about the eggs Raina - they will come when she's settled down.

[chick wiggle]

Yay Love to hear good news like that.

and who cares about the eggs as long as shes happy and healthy, the eggs will come soon enough

[Raina]

Yeah, i don't really mind about the eggs,she normally lays everyday so just found it a bit odd her not laying for so long.I watched Orakiah laying an egg on the webcam this morning

 

I'm going to have a good look at both of them later and sprinkle some Diatom on them too