Chicken with no legs??

I have a tiny silver sebright cockerel. He's about 5 months old and weighs less than 2 pounds. Wednesday night I noticed him hiding in a corner in my chicken coop so I picked him up to see what was wrong. I immediately noticed frostbite on the toes of his left foot. I brought him inside then, upon closer inspection, I noticed a break in his right leg, right below where the meat stops. I wrapped his broken leg to splint/support it. Friday, I came home to find that his left leg had broken in the same place. There was no outside trauma I'm sure, because he was in a cat carrier all by himself. The breaks in his legs were so bad last night that I decided it would be best to clip the small piece of skin that was still holding on..



So now my poor guy has no legs! I've been giving metacam for pain and baytril. I don't want to put him down if he can live like this but I don't want to make his life miserable either. I've heard plenty about 1 legged chickens but what about no legged chickens? Is it possible?

FIY - If I do nurse him through this he will be a house chicken. I would never expect him to be outside unattended for fear of him being easy prey.

Any/all advice/input would be greatly appreciated!

I would try to get the dead tissue off, and maybe soak him in some warm epsom salts water. Apply plain Neosporin Ointment to the stumps. Place him on a clean towel in a cage to limit his activity with food and water close so he can reach it. Reapply the ointment daily. If you can get some antibiotics for him, it would be best to prevent infection. Here is a similar thread about a chicken losing both legs recently: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/842760/frost-bitten-feet

Thank you for your response. Reading about another no legged chicken gives me hope. I've removed all dead tissue and cleaned his stumps, then I applied silver sulfadiazine cream, a nonstick pad, casting wrap, gauze wrap, and, finally, vet wrap. His little stubs are well protected! I figured it has to hurt so the more padding the better until it starts to heal.

The vet told me that his chances for healing and living a relatively happy life are slim but I'm going to give it a try anyway. The baytril that I've been giving him is an antibiotic. My plan is to continue the abx and pain meds for at least 10-14 days and change his bandages 1-2 times a day, as needed.

Do you think it would be better to not wrap his stumps? I'd think that would be very painful.

Thanks again for your response!

Eggcessive said:

I would try to get the dead tissue off, and maybe soak him in some warm epsom salts water.  Apply plain Neosporin Ointment to the stumps.  Place him on a clean towel in a cage to limit his activity with food and water close so he can reach it.  Reapply the ointment daily.  If you can get some antibiotics for him, it would be best to prevent infection.  Here is a similar thread about a chicken losing both legs recently:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/842760/frost-bitten-feet

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Oops, meant to quote in my last post.

Baytril is as good as you can get. I would think wrapping the stumps right now, making sure the wrap isn't too tight, would be best until they heal some. If I were you I would PM TRChickenRanch , and ask any questions. Most people on here are very quick to give advice, and like to help. It sounds as though you have things taken care of on your end. I hope he gets along okay.

Eggcessive said:

Baytril is as good as you can get.  I would think wrapping the stumps right now, making sure the wrap isn't too tight, would be best until they heal some.  If I were you I would PM TRChickenRanch , and ask any questions.  Most people on here are very quick to give advice, and like to help.  It sounds as though you have things taken care of on your end.  I hope he gets along okay.

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Thank you!

Just an update.. He seems to be doing ok. His mood is definitely good, he's such a social little guy! His balance is getting better.. He's learning how to balance using his wings. His stumps look okay, considering. He doesn't seem to be painful, as hard as that is to believe. He just lays there and lets me doctor him. I assume if it hurt that much he'd at least flinch, but he doesn't. I am continuing the meds as I planned just in case. I will try to post pictures of his progress.

Good to hear that he is doing well. We'll look forward to the updates.

I'm starting to have second thoughts.. Sorta. I work at an animal hospital and today one of the vets asked why I am keeping my chicken alive after he lost both legs. He also expressed how cruel he thought it was and said I should euthanize him. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to be suffering. I know that sounds crazy but he really seems like he's in a good mood and not very painful. Am I crazy for treating him? I'm starting to think maybe it's selfish of me to keep him alive. My gut feeling is that I can do my best to save him.

Here is a picture I took a few minutes ago. He doesn't look depressed or anything (to me), what do you think?

I think you know he has special needs and have already decided he would be a house pet when he recovers. You won't have to worry about spiders in the house. From the picture he looks good, a lil pale but I am too after recovering from surgery. As long as you and he are able to handle his new life I don't see a problem. You are giving him a chance to live.

As for the Vet I have seen them give thumbs down on many animals that live with disabilities. A Roo on stumps can be a happy bird, just getting the healing done is the difficult part. I support you on your choice. So what you name him?