Loss use of leg

[hankshens]

I found my hen about 5 days ago and she souldnt hardly walk. She could move enough to try to get away from me but I caught her and put her in a crate by herself so she couldnt move around and hurt herself farther. I guess I should have left her alone. Since then she has given up use on her leg. I have checked her for a broken leg, dislocated hip etc. She seems fine, just wont use her leg. I can move it and she doesnt act like she is in pain. I have put her back out in the coop to try to motivate her to try to walk she seems to be trying, but its not working. I really need help. My chickens are my pets. I am at a loss of things to do and I feel so bad for her. She lays on her side with her leg out in front of her. I think she may just have nerve damage. No vets around her work on chickens. I dont know what happened to her, I have a farm so there are plenty of animals who could have stepped on her or kicked her. I cant see any wounds. What should I do with her. Here is what I am thinking.... give her some asprin and keep her in the coop but in a cage so she cant get pecked. I really dont want to put her down. Please help.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I see noone has replied yet to your post... I really dont have a cut and dry guess even for you as it could be so many things...
Are you able to say what the earlier symptoms were ? "how" was she limping? What is the environment there like ? Is she free range...what is her diet etc?

 

[bheila]

I had the same strange thing happen with one of my hens. Except she would still use the other leg and hop around. I gave her 3 weeks to see if her leg would get better. It never did. I made the decision to cull her. It was just so sad to watch her drag her feathery leg around. I hope your chicky heals.

 

[hankshens]

She is a free range chicken and I had found her seperated from her friends laying in a barn. I walked up to her to make sure she was ok and thats when she tried to run. She was still able to get away from me so I know she can use it, she just stopped. Today she is a little better, she has the leg pulled up under her, rather than out in front of her. I am going to try to give her some asprin for the pain and see if she tries to use it then. I am going to keep her seperated during the day and put her in the coop at night. She is making more effort each day to try to get away from me but she just flops.

 

[verthandi]

Is she still using one leg? or are both not working? I had one that out of the blue, could not support herself on one of her legs. After watching her for a while, it appeared that she had damaged the hock area. (probably not the correct chicken term). She had no visible scrape, bleeding or swelling. I used vet wrap to stabilize the leg, added aspirin to her water and made a separate area within the coop for her. It took approximately 6 weeks before the leg healed enough that she could be returned to the flock. To tell you the truth, I don't know which one was injured now, they all look so much alike and she walks normal again.

Best wishes with your hen.

 

[hankshens]

Thanks, I will vet wrap her hock because thats sounds about right. It cant hurt. I will try anything. She is the baby of one of my favorite hens that passed away this summer. I am determined to keep her alive. Did yours start feeling better with the asprin?

 

[verthandi]

The aspirin didn't seem to make any difference but it made me feel better

I used one of the small aspirin to a pint waterer. They are like the baby aspirin but are used by people that have to take it as heart prevention. I figured that was close to the 5 regular aspirin to a gallon figure.

It was slow going, but she did improve over time. She never got worse, once I wrapped her leg, but some days I wondered if I was doing the right thing, She never stopped eating or drinking, she would hop and got a little better every week. The other hens picked on her if I tried to put her back in the flock until she was walking more normal.

I actually think mine might have gotten hurt jumping down from the roost, even though it isn't very high. Sometimes they all come jumping down at once a land on each other. So I added a hay bale below the roost as a secondary landing area.

 

[chickenzoo]

I have a little roo that was jumped by three others. He went from huddled up to not using his legs, very quickly. He just laid on his side and really didn't move them too much, but had feeling. I put him in a cage with a shallow water bowel and food right beside him. I rotated him from one side to another during the day. I gave him a little predisone too. It took about a month for him to regain the use of his legs, but now runs all over the yard.

 

[hankshens]

Well I gave her the asprin and have her seperate so she can eat and drink with out being bothered. She tried to stand up today. So I believe she will recover. Thanks for everyones help and keep praying for her. I will keep you updated.

 

[horsejody]

Could be Marek's