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[Barkisland]

Agnes, one of my new (April 15th) ex batts is limping very heavily. She seems barely able to put her left foot to the floor.

She's eating & drinking, I don't know for sure if she is laying. I think she has always been slightly lame since rescue, but it has got noticeably much worse over the weekend. In herself, she looks as bright & inquisitive as ever, although I've noticed her sitting down a lot, and she's really struggling to get up the ramp to bed in the evenings. She can't do the chicken dance or scratch

I don't have a cockerel, so she has not been aggressively mated.

She has loads of grit available. She has been on ex batt pellets & water fortified with Lifeguard.

I took her to the vet this morning, as I was convinced her hip was dislocated. He had a good feel around, but cannot find anything obviously wrong, no break, dislocation or infection, he says. Her crop was nice & full, and he said she is in pretty good nick for an ex batt. Unfortunately she wouldn't walk on his floor, so he didn't see the limping for himself, but it is really pitiful to see her hopping about.

He's given me some anti inflammatory pain reliever, which is meant for cats, a tiny dose daily. It tastes of honey, and thankfully she seems to like it! It hasn't made any difference to her limp so far.

Any thoughts please?

[Chucky Mama]

Keep her well rested by confining her in a small area with food and water close by. She may need some help getting to bed an night if she needs to climb and the same getting out of the coop too. She is probably on Metacam which may take 3- 5 days to kick in (at least it did with my lame hen). It is a small dose, don't be tempted to increase it though. Adding some calcium to her diet/water may help. Good luck

[Barkisland]

Thank you, yes it is Metacam. Did it work for your hen?

[Chucky Mama]

Yes it did but towards the end of the course. I was just beginning to loose heart as there was not improvement and then all of a sudden she was better. She has some shell fragility issues now though so I wonder if it was calcium related hence my suggestion that you supplement her. I use Zolcal D.

[Barkisland]

Thank you. Will look into the calcium supplement

I think she may be ever so slightly less sore today, but she is still limping heavily.

[Barkisland]

I've ordered some Zolcal D. Can I just ask if you use it all the time/for all your flock? And do you use the full dose?

I have got a hen laying thin shelled eggs, but not sure which one it is, so might be an idea to supplement them all, but can it cause problems if you give to hens that don't need it?

 

Edit to add: Agnes seems better tonight and managed to get herself up the ramp to bed

[abwsco]

Fiona, not sure if you remember (you probably won't as it was nearly three years ago) but we successfully treated Mindy one of our exbatts with metacam. She couldn't even stand up when we started treatment and she spent nearly two weeks living in the house with us. She then returned to the flock as top chuck again. Hope Agnes recovers fully.

[Chucky Mama]

You can use it all the time for the whole flock but stick to the dose. I am not a fan of supplementing with calcium unless there is a clear issue as it is not put to good use if it is not required. In terms of the flock it is probably best to give it until egg shell quality improves (it could make no difference or it could make shell rough and ridged) and then stop and give it every once in a while. With your lame girl I would give it until she improves and then perhaps weekly on a small piece of bread.

[Barkisland]

Thanks! Putting it on bread is a good tip

[Barkisland]

Agnes is walking much better today, although still sitting down often. I have been reading about Metacam and think I will just give it alternate days from now. Zolcal should be here tomorrow. Thanks for your help

[Chucky Mama]

I would give it as per your instructions. It is an anti inflammatory and they work best in terms of pain relief when given before the pain is at it's height. For example, if you have a headache brewing and your take some pain relief before it gets bad, it works much better than taking it when it is really bad. Leaving a day between doses will lessen it's efficacy.

[Barkisland]

Thanks. I have read elsewhere that it should be used for as short a time as poss due to potential gastric problems (as it is a NSAID which are notorious for causing internal bleeding).

The Zolcal has arrived. Is this correct? 10ml per litre of drinking water?? My drinkers are the 12L size and they are refilled every 7 - 10 days, it will cost me a fortune! (I got the 500ml size of Zolcal but it was £20+ )

I have just squirted about 3ml in the drinking rim for now as they are to be cleaned and re-filled tomorrow. Agnes has been and had a good slurp already, good girl

[Chucky Mama]

Thanks. I have read elsewhere that it should be used for as short a time as poss due to potential gastric problems (as it is a NSAID which are notorious for causing internal bleeding).

The course that you are giving her wouldn't be considered a long time. Gastric issues should not be an issue if you are giving it at the recommended dose.

[Barkisland]

Agnes is quite a bit better. I dosed her with metacam today and trimmed two of her claws on the left foot, as I noticed they were very overgrown and much longer than the other claws on the same foot., which makes me think the lameness has been a long term problem. She is not enjoying the medicine and now hides when she sees me coming

Hope the zolcal is helpful.

[laurmurf]

A possible cause of the limping is mycoplasma infection in the joints. We've had this diagnosed today in one of our hens.

 

I've been reading up today and apparently it's really well known in commercial flocks that a type of mycoplasma attacks the synovial fluid and causes an infectious arthritis. The best cure is Tylan for the infection and metacam for the anti-inflammatory properties.

[Old Hazel]

Hi

I just found this. Lily May doesn't seem to have any other symptoms - not bad chest or anything. I have Metacam here because the vet gave it to our cat. How much did you dose your hens?

Hazel

[Barkisland]

Hi Old Hazel. The vet weighed Agnes and she weighed 1.7kgs. He said just to give a 1kg dose once a day, for one week, so only a tiny weeny amount. She is a lot better, and yesterday I saw her doing a little bit of the chicken dance

[Chucky Mama]

Hi

I just found this. Lily May doesn't seem to have any other symptoms - not bad chest or anything. I have Metacam here because the vet gave it to our cat. How much did you dose your hens?

Hazel

I really wouldn't self diagnose and dose with Metacam. It can have nasty side effects if incorrectly dosed. At the very least, speak to the vet first. Metacam is an anti inflammatory which in turn relieves pain but you do need to be assured that there is nothing else going on like an infection.

[Barkisland]

Just thought I would let you know that Agnes is now fully recovered from her lameness. I have been using Zocal in the water for about a week, for the whole flock, with some improvement in shell quality. I stopped the Metacam early, as I felt she was improving.