Olivia or Oliver
Chirping
- May 19, 2021
- 62
- 153
- 98
Just wanted to share how we successfully splinted a slipped tendon for our cockerel (~12 weeks). Hoping this could help others having similar issues with their chicken.
We noticed that our chicken's right leg was trembling a lot and he was beginning to develop what looked like a splayed leg. Upon examination, we found that his right leg bone (tibia?) was falling out of the joint socket, to the side. As a result we could move his right leg side to side whereas his left only moved back and forth. It was like this for at least 2 weeks.
Below is what his leg looked like before treatment. I wish I had better pictures but this is the only one I could find. It was more severe than what it looks like in the picture, a lot like this poster's chicken. From the back it looked just like the diagram in the screenshot.
If I used my finger to push where the blue arrow was, it would snap the joint back in its place, but as soon as I'd let go it would come out of the socket again and to the side. It was getting worse by day and the joint became more and more swollen. Our chicken would spend most of his day sitting down. We tried to fix the problem by wrapping tape around the joint but he could not sit down properly. So we decided to make a splint for him. All credit goes to my partner who is an engineer
Here are the things you need to make the splint:
Cut the wooden stick in half and use the hole puncher to punch holes through the round end of each stick. Insert the paper fastener through the two holes and secure it on the opposite side. trim the wooden sticks so that each side is shorter than the chicken's upper and lower leg.
This is what it looks like from the front:
This is what it looked like from the back:
Before placing the splint, lightly wrap both the upper and lower leg in gauze. This prevents the wooden splint from directly touching the chicken's leg.
Place the splint on the outside of the problematic leg (or whichever direction it is falling out), and wrap over it with gauze. Do not wrap in the middle where the joint is.
Secure with medical tape.
This is what the end result looked like. He hated the splint but he had full mobility and could walk, sit down, raise his leg to scratch his face, etc, all while keeping the joint in place.
This is his leg after leaving the splint on for 5 days. We noticed that the leg is back in its place 70~80% of the time now, so we put it back on and plan to leave it on for another week. If the problem persists it could be a permanent splint as well.
We noticed that our chicken's right leg was trembling a lot and he was beginning to develop what looked like a splayed leg. Upon examination, we found that his right leg bone (tibia?) was falling out of the joint socket, to the side. As a result we could move his right leg side to side whereas his left only moved back and forth. It was like this for at least 2 weeks.
Below is what his leg looked like before treatment. I wish I had better pictures but this is the only one I could find. It was more severe than what it looks like in the picture, a lot like this poster's chicken. From the back it looked just like the diagram in the screenshot.
If I used my finger to push where the blue arrow was, it would snap the joint back in its place, but as soon as I'd let go it would come out of the socket again and to the side. It was getting worse by day and the joint became more and more swollen. Our chicken would spend most of his day sitting down. We tried to fix the problem by wrapping tape around the joint but he could not sit down properly. So we decided to make a splint for him. All credit goes to my partner who is an engineer
Here are the things you need to make the splint:
- Wooden stick
- Paper fastener
- Hole puncher
- Gauze
- Medical tape
- Scissors
Cut the wooden stick in half and use the hole puncher to punch holes through the round end of each stick. Insert the paper fastener through the two holes and secure it on the opposite side. trim the wooden sticks so that each side is shorter than the chicken's upper and lower leg.
This is what it looks like from the front:
This is what it looked like from the back:
Before placing the splint, lightly wrap both the upper and lower leg in gauze. This prevents the wooden splint from directly touching the chicken's leg.
Place the splint on the outside of the problematic leg (or whichever direction it is falling out), and wrap over it with gauze. Do not wrap in the middle where the joint is.
Secure with medical tape.
This is what the end result looked like. He hated the splint but he had full mobility and could walk, sit down, raise his leg to scratch his face, etc, all while keeping the joint in place.
This is his leg after leaving the splint on for 5 days. We noticed that the leg is back in its place 70~80% of the time now, so we put it back on and plan to leave it on for another week. If the problem persists it could be a permanent splint as well.
but I've built him a wheelchair and wrap his joint in vet wrap regularly and he's been doing well. I do think the splint has helped him because the vet actually said she was impressed with how he was still standing... when he shouldn't be able to. In summary, I would use with caution and see if it helps, if you observe that it's not helping your chicken then I wouldn't force it.
