I seem to be having a problem with lame chickens. One of my penedensca mutt hens (named Faith) got her leg all whopperjawed last fall and I had to use BluKote on it to keep the other hens from pecking at the blood. Then we entered our rainy cold season, and she was miserable. She'd wallow in the mud, lost a bunch of feathers and refused to walk on her bad leg. I took her out and kept her separate during the day in a pet carrier full of timothy hay until she got her chest feathers back and got healthy again but she's still a little lazy although she's walking around fine now (she hasn't started laying again yet though).
Now that she's healthy and the weather is nice she's perked right up, but all of a sudden my best layer (Granny) now has a bum leg as well. This one is different, there's no external injuries, but she refuses to walk on it and just drags it behind her. She's still laying though, and she hobbles up and down the ramp into the coop. The weather is nice now and warm and dry enough that I'm hoping she'll heal up but I hate to see her like this. If she doesn't heal up in a week or two or at least show some signs of recovery I think the only kind thing to do will be to put her in the stewpot. She's my most consistent layer though, so that's going to put a dent in our egg supply.
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