7 month old rooster with broken leg after racoon attack?

siouxbee

Songster
12 Years
May 8, 2007
110
2
139
I have a 7 mo old Jersey Giant roo who was limping pretty badly after a racoon got into the coop a week and a half ago. We brought him inside, put antibiotic ointment onto the place where skin was broken (it seemed like his knee had been skinned almost, not so much puncture wound) and have been keeping him on shavings in a bathtub in an unused bathroom. I started him on antibiotic feed 3 days ago since he seemed no better after a week.

His "knee" (whatever that joint is where his leg meets his feathers) is swollen almost twice as big as the other one. I called the vet we use for our cat who is upfront about admitting he knows little about chickens and just got some himself, who said it was likely a broken leg or infection. The wounds are healing nicely and don't look infected at all. The leg isn't bent at an odd angle or anything, the joint is just really swollen.

But the poor roo spends his days sitting or standing with his leg pulled up under him. Even at this point, he can put little or no weight on it, and has a hefty limp. Since it's at a joint, I wasn't sure how to split it or help it heal. Reading up, I see that it can take 6 weeks for a broken bone to heal.

What more should I be doing for him? We are remodeling our kitchen, so on days it's not raining, I put him in a bin with some shavings outside so the chaos and noise won't bother him. On rainy days, he's stuck with it tho. I'm just not sure if I'm doing right by him. He is alert, bright eyed and eating and drinking fine.

Any thoughts?
 
It takes around 6 weeks for a human bone, as a round number, but chicken bones are hollow and heal much more quickly. At this point I don't think I would mess with trying to change the position of the leg.

"Swollen" sounds like infection, particularly if there is any warmth or redness. If not, perhaps it is bone in the wrong place / injured, rather than infection. If this is the case it probably will not change.
 
Hm, thanks for the info!! I don't see much redness, since the wounds where the skin came off are healing nicely and never looked red, but that joint sure was hotter than the other one!! So hopefully the antibiotics will do the trick!! Thanks for the advice!
 
Quote:
I would deffiently wrap it with some neosporn. If I don't wrap my chickens wounds then they eat the neosporn. Other wise I think he is verry luckey to have you taking care of him
smile.png
 
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