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[LuckyChickenLover-]

Hi all,

I noticed that Priscilla has developed a really slight intermittent limp in her left leg. Any ideas why this might be? I had a look at her foot and there are no obvious signs of her being injured. There were no cuts on her feet and it wasn't swollen or anything like that, and there wasn't a larger than normal amount of mud on her. We cleaned her feet in case it was the mud, but her limp didn't stop.

 

I had a look on the FAQ section of the forum and it mentioned that this could have been caused by a calcium deficiency, although this seems unusual for Priscilla because she gets oyster shell to eat and they get to free-range around the garden for a couple of hours a day so she can find their own grit. We bake their eggshells to feed back to them and we also give them titbits now and again (including odd bits of cheese etc that should have calcium in), and the mash that we give them about twice a week is 1% calcium.

 

If it makes a difference at all, she seems to be laying normally too, which further makes calcium deficiency unlikely. One of the hens didn't lay yesterday, but I dismissed this as a problem considering that there are fewer hours of daylight nowadays.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

~ LCL

[Steve the Gas]

Prolly just a sprain or strain, which will go over time, just observe.

You could give a little cod liver oil to help with the absorption of the calcium. Not too much or too often or the eggs will go fishy tasting.....

[Chucky Mama]

You could give her some Lifeguard as it is a well balance supplement and also contains glucosamine which is good for joints. I am not a great believer in over doing supplements that contain calcium though so I would advise using 1 only. I have a hen that is intermittently slightly lame, possible made worse by the cube ladder which she doesn't negotiate too well.