First of all, thanks to all who have posted previously on dealing with chicken leg injuries - it was a big help to me! I have 26 hens and one of the younger ones decided to fly to the top of the 6' chain link fence section to check things out. Apparently she got tangled up when trying to get down and when my husband got home from work (he was home first), he found her hanging upside down. Wasn't sure how to deal with it, so here's what we did/are doing and I'll keep everyone posted. (Thanks also to my good friend Laura for her advice and sympathy!)
It doesn't look like her leg is broken but the foot is swollen and bruised. We put her in a separate section of our coop - in fact, we had just cleaned that out from a batch of roosters we had raised and it made for a good hospital. I wasn't sure she would make it through the night - she was pretty much out of it but still breathing, so we left food and water right next to her and hoped for the best. The next morning, she was sitting up, head erect and scoping things out. By the afternoon, she had kinda scooted a little ways across the floor and was much more alert. Food, fresh water, and a couple of cucumber slices for good luck!
Here's all the advice I gathered:
1. Isolate her because other chickens will pick mercilessly on an injured bird, even if there's no blood. There is no such thing as peer support or sympathy in the chicken mind!
2. The hen will act like she's in shock for a couple days and will want to hide behind something, even if it's just a box in the shade where she can stick her head. She'll assume the rest of her is hidden as well.
3. Provide food and water right next to her so she doesn't have to move far. Don't be afraid to feed her by hand. She'll get the idea after you drop a few pieces of food near her. If she's nutty about having people come too close, just leave the food. Orrrr you can pick her up and carry her under your arm to tame her. This will make it harder to deal with after she becomes very fond of you and is then eaten by a raccoon (speaking of which, make sure outdoor food is taken up in the evening).
4. Just wait for her to come out of her funk and her leg will heal up by itself. It will probably take 2 weeks of babying.
5. When she gets better, stick her back with the ladies, hope she's learned her lesson and doesn't fly around too much.
Thanks, everyone - so far, so good!
It doesn't look like her leg is broken but the foot is swollen and bruised. We put her in a separate section of our coop - in fact, we had just cleaned that out from a batch of roosters we had raised and it made for a good hospital. I wasn't sure she would make it through the night - she was pretty much out of it but still breathing, so we left food and water right next to her and hoped for the best. The next morning, she was sitting up, head erect and scoping things out. By the afternoon, she had kinda scooted a little ways across the floor and was much more alert. Food, fresh water, and a couple of cucumber slices for good luck!
Here's all the advice I gathered:
1. Isolate her because other chickens will pick mercilessly on an injured bird, even if there's no blood. There is no such thing as peer support or sympathy in the chicken mind!
2. The hen will act like she's in shock for a couple days and will want to hide behind something, even if it's just a box in the shade where she can stick her head. She'll assume the rest of her is hidden as well.
3. Provide food and water right next to her so she doesn't have to move far. Don't be afraid to feed her by hand. She'll get the idea after you drop a few pieces of food near her. If she's nutty about having people come too close, just leave the food. Orrrr you can pick her up and carry her under your arm to tame her. This will make it harder to deal with after she becomes very fond of you and is then eaten by a raccoon (speaking of which, make sure outdoor food is taken up in the evening).
4. Just wait for her to come out of her funk and her leg will heal up by itself. It will probably take 2 weeks of babying.
5. When she gets better, stick her back with the ladies, hope she's learned her lesson and doesn't fly around too much.
Thanks, everyone - so far, so good!