A wooden pallet fell on my hen

[HenMan28]

I have only been caring for chickens for about 2 months now. i got 7 hens already grown from my brother and early on, one in particular took an interest in me. she's black and i named her onyx. every morning when i let them out of the coop i spend about 2 hours walking around the yard, lifting up boards and moving larger items so that my chickens can eat the crickets underneath, kinda like bonding time and it's very therapeutic for me. yesterday, like always, onyx was right underneath me, never running or being afraid of me lifting things around her or being close to her. a wooden pallet that was a lil on the heavy and solid side slipped from my hands and landed on her. she immediately started squawking and when i lifted it off of her, she took off running under the porch swing and spent the rest of the day under bushes around the yard. none of the chickens will let me hold them or anything but most of the time when i come outside, they all come running, no doubt expecting the cricket feast that usually follows. onyx always leading the way, like my own little special hen buddy. today she isnt herself, to be expected, but she wont come anywhere near me, wont come eat the crickets and she has isolated herself. i know she's most likely hurting and seems to be a little bigger than usual. not sure if she's swollen due to the impact or not. but im sure she's having trust issues at the moment on top of the pain but will she be ok. how do i know if she has injuries worse than a few aches and pains from the fall, like internal injuries, i feel horrible and it kills me that she seems to look at me like i'm the bad guy. how long with she hurt physically and do i just keep an eye on her for now? will she ever come bounding across the yard to meet me again, like a little dog bird meeting her best friend? i'm worried that i may have hurt her more than just "a flesh wound". please help. i need answers and advice. i love my all my chickens but she's my favorite.

 

[townchicks]

Accidents do happen. Don't beat yourself up too much. I know you are worried about her, but there is no way for us to tell you if she will be ok, or advise you, until you get hands on the hen. She may be just bruised, or she could have broken bones or internal injuries. You need to catch her if you can, so you can look at her closely and feel for broken bones. If she won't let you close to her, just keep an eye on her, watch how she moves, if at all, and tonight when she roosts, pick her up and bring her into the light for a closer look. Good luck.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

i know she's most likely hurting and seems to be a little bigger than usual. not sure if she's swollen due to the impact or not. but im sure she's having trust issues at the moment on top of the pain but will she be ok. how do i know if she has injuries worse than a few aches and pains from the fall, like internal injuries,

Welcome To BYC.

I'm sorry about your hen.
You mention that she looks a little bigger than usual. It would be a very good idea if possible, for you to examine her. Being bigger could be from swelling/internal injury. A leaking air sac comes to mind as well - this is where air is leaking into the body - do you notice if she's having any difficulty breathing?

Likely she is not viewing you as the "bad guy". Chickens isolate themselves and are very cautious if they are injured, it's just the way they react. If she's able to recover from this and when she feels better, she will begin to come around.

If you can't easily catch her during the day, wait until it's dark and take her then. Stress of being caught/chased around can put them over the edge - nighttime is sometimes the best time, since they can't see and are much more docile.

I would place some water near where she is keeping herself along with some food. Hydration is very important, food not so much, so if she's drinking that would be good.

If you have photos you wish to share, those are always welcome too. Keep us posted.

 

[Aunt Angus]

You've gotten great advice so far. Try to examine her. She may just be puffed up, too, because she's stressed. You won't know until you examine her, though. People will be able to give you specific advice then.

I stepped on my Brahma a few weeks ago, and I felt just awful. She squawked loudly - screamed, really - and ran away limping pretty significantly and hid under the yucca tree where I couldn't get to her. I had to wait until nighttime to get ahold of her. I thought for sure I broke her leg or crushed her foot. But the only injury I found was a badly broken toenail. It had bled but clotted sometime that day. I trimmed it down and cleaned her up. She's fine now. She was scared of me for about a week after. I got her to forgive me eventually with patience and mealworms.

Onyx will forgive you, too, I'm sure. Accidents happen to all of us. Keep us posted.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi and welcome to the BYC community. I'm sorry this happened to your hen. You are getting good advice here. Picking her off the roost at night is the best way to get hands on her with least trauma to her, you won't be the big monster chasing her! Then if necessary you can even take her in the house for a good exam. Maybe cover her face with a towel so she can't see, but of course be sure she can breathe. I hope she's not seriously hurt and recovers quickly!