Hi,
Lilly has had a limp for about 3 days now. At first it was very slight but it was quite bad this morning. I thought she might have strained it as she is determined to squeeze herself into the bantams nesting house to lay her egg. I have checked her legs and feet for bumble foot and scaly leg and all seem ok. I soaked her in a warm Epsom salts bath this afternoon and gave her a tiny piece of aspirin to help with her discomfort. I thought I would check her skin to make sure she had good colour and condition. In doing so I was shocked to find that her preening gland is blocked and almost the size of a large marble and as tight as a drum, in fact I feel it would have burst if it was left another day or two. I quickly went into reading overdrive trying to work out what to do???
I know you should not do this but I applied betadine, sterilized a needle and put a little hole in it. I applied a warm compress and gentle massaged it and the most awful yellow pus/goo(not smelly) came out of it and there was heaps of it, some runny and some thickish. I continued the process until the bulge had done down considerably. I applied 3 in 1 antibiotic ointment to the whole area and I have started her on some antibiotics and will check the site every day. Her condition is fabulous, as too is her appetite and she is laying every couple of days. I would not have found the gland issue except for the fact that she has a limp and checked her over.
My question is.....can the blocked gland cause her to limp if it the infection and pressure is bad enough?? Can it "tunnel" down to her thigh joint??
Any advice would be great.
