5 reasons your chicken may be limping

You may think a limping bird means an injury to the foot or leg, but it can be a symptom of other, odder causes.

The cause of a bird’s limp may be easy to see, such as a swollen leg or an infected cut. But often, there are no obvious signs, and it can take some detective work to discover why a bird is limping.

The limp

Initial signs could be one, or more, of the following:

■ favouring one leg while moving around;

■ dragging one leg;

■ walking crookedly or wobbling;

■ splayed legs, either one to the side or one forward and one back;

■ twisted toe or toes curled inwards or outwards;

■ listless and not moving around much;

■ sitting back on the hocks, unable to stand;

■ standing with one foot raised.

The causes

Limping can be due to a wide range of factors, such as the obvious physical causes:

■ lump or swelling on the legs or toes;

■ weeping/open sore;

■ raised scales;

■ cuts and wounds;

■ birds jumping off high perches or nest boxes;

■ children, pets or other livestock accidentally stepping on or crushing birds;

■ dropping birds from a height;

■ catching birds by the legs;

■ faulty or poor equipment, eg getting a leg hooked up on wire;

■ string or thread from feed bags getting wound around a toe or leg;

■ wet litter around waterers or muddy conditions outside, causing bumblefoot.

But other, less obvious issues can cause limping, including:

■ nutritional deficiencies, especially vitamin and minerals;

■ toxins from moulds, poisonous plants, or heavy metals, eg lead;

■ diseases, eg Marek’s disease (viral), Staphylococcal arthritis (bacterial);

■ parasites, eg scaly leg mites.

Limping in newly-hatched chicks may be caused by:

■ holding eggs in storage too long before incubating them;

■ low humidity during hatching inside the incubator;

■ slippery brooder surface.

Limping may be due to a physical injury, but can also be a sign of poor diet and disease.