I am new at keeping chickens since Sep/Oct this year and have my 1st health issue this morning...
Noticed during my morning feeding ritual that Queeny my Barnevelder hen has a badly swollen right back toe thumb. She has always been a limpy/hoppety kind of girl since I got her in early Oct her limp has not effected her egg production and she still rules the roost. So have not worried about her limp. This morning she is still eating her breakfast (as greedily as ever) and pecking at the
lower ranked girls to keep out of her way. But this swollen toe is worrying me. With the swelling around her toe thumb (no sign of bumblefoot) she might end up having trouble of roosting. However she continues being happy jumping up roosting bars both in and outside of the coop. Am thinking of using an Arnica tincture/oil on her. Can anyone advise please as cost of vet visit would outway her purchase price no doubt!
Hoping that someone can give me some advise, many thanx in advance.
Mo
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Can't give you any insight on the swollen toe but I have taken a chook to the vet. The first challenge was to find one who would look at a chook. Having found one he told me that his fees and treatment for her cough would exeed her value, when I told him that she was a kind of pet he started talking about getting in an ostrich specialist!!!! The all up charge including antibiotics was $60 I think, plus raisins to hide the antibiotics in so she would take them