Advice for chicken that slipped on ice has bad limp

[Cider240]

Hello all on Monday of last week my ladies were free ranging when one hen chased the other across a frozen puddle. The hen being chased went splay legged and fell. She was unable
to stand and I immediately brought her in and put her in a kennel in the basement. By that evening she was standing, but not bearing weight. The next day she was bearing weight with a minor limp. I kept her in until Wednesday when I put her back with the other hens and the rooster. She was able to get in and out of the coop. I checked her leg all up and down and couldn’t feel anything out of place. I checked her hip as well as I could. She quivered when I touched it, but near as I could tell it wasn’t dislocated. Of course my only experience feeling chicken legs and hips is when dealing with those going in the roaster.

On Thursday morning when I opened the coop she didn’t come out. When I opened the big door to check on her she couldn’t stand. I immediately brought her back in. She didn’t stand all day Thursday and every time she tried she would lose balance and try to use her wing to stand. By Friday she was standing again. By Saturday she was bearing weight. She has a terrible limp, but she seems bright, alert, and happy. She’s laid an egg everyday, is eating well, and seems to enjoy our company. Now when we clean out her kennel (which is happening numerous times a day) she rushes out, but still with quite a severe limp. I’m concerned because her limp doesn’t seem to have improved any since Saturday. I don’t want to put her back out with the flock even though she is beyond anxious to return. I’m concerned her hip/leg won’t hold up to the attention of the rooster. My very long-winded question is has anyone else had something like this happen and how long might it take to heal? How could I determine if the hip is dislocated? Everything looks in alignment. Just not sure how to proceed or how long it might take. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Hello all on Monday of last week my ladies were free ranging when one hen chased the other across a frozen puddle. The hen being chased went splay legged and fell. She was unable
to stand and I immediately brought her in and put her in a kennel in the basement. By that evening she was standing, but not bearing weight. The next day she was bearing weight with a minor limp. I kept her in until Wednesday when I put her back with the other hens and the rooster. She was able to get in and out of the coop. I checked her leg all up and down and couldn’t feel anything out of place. I checked her hip as well as I could. She quivered when I touched it, but near as I could tell it wasn’t dislocated. Of course my only experience feeling chicken legs and hips is when dealing with those going in the roaster.

On Thursday morning when I opened the coop she didn’t come out. When I opened the big door to check on her she couldn’t stand. I immediately brought her back in. She didn’t stand all day Thursday and every time she tried she would lose balance and try to use her wing to stand. By Friday she was standing again. By Saturday she was bearing weight. She has a terrible limp, but she seems bright, alert, and happy. She’s laid an egg everyday, is eating well, and seems to enjoy our company. Now when we clean out her kennel (which is happening numerous times a day) she rushes out, but still with quite a severe limp. I’m concerned because her limp doesn’t seem to have improved any since Saturday. I don’t want to put her back out with the flock even though she is beyond anxious to return. I’m concerned her hip/leg won’t hold up to the attention of the rooster. My very long-winded question is has anyone else had something like this happen and how long might it take to heal? How could I determine if the hip is dislocated? Everything looks in alignment. Just not sure how to proceed or how long it might take. Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi sorry your hen had an accident. Def keep the rooster away from her. Maybe set up a dog crate for her to sleep in, inside your coop so she can sleep with the others but not be knocked around in the morning?

 

[Cider240]

Hi sorry your hen had an accident. Def keep the rooster away from her. Maybe set up a dog crate for her to sleep in, inside your coop so she can sleep with the others but not be knocked around in the morning?

Yes, I now know better to send her back out with that rooster until she’s in better shape. I had thought about letting her sleep in the coop in the Kennel, but our temps are very low this week. It’s currently 7 degrees outside. So I’m worried she’ll be too cold on her own.

So I thought about putting her kennel out in the run for an hour or so tomorrow so she can see her buddies, but then I worry she’ll try to move around the kennel too much. Just want to go slowly since I put her back out before she was ready. But do worry about her missing her flock mates. I’m making my teenage son who is doing homeschool work on all his homework with the chicken in the basement. Lol

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Yes, I now know better to send her back out with that rooster until she’s in better shape. I had thought about letting her sleep in the coop in the Kennel, but our temps are very low this week. It’s currently 7 degrees outside. So I’m worried she’ll be too cold on her own.

So I thought about putting her kennel out in the run for an hour or so tomorrow so she can see her buddies, but then I worry she’ll try to move around the kennel too much. Just want to go slowly since I put her back out before she was ready. But do worry about her missing her flock mates. I’m making my teenage son who is doing homeschool work on all his homework with the chicken in the basement. Lol

Yes, keep her warm, dry and hydrated. Maybe some Nutridrench, Savachick or other source of niacin vitamin B on her favorite treats. Tonight I found a pullet that got her foot caught in a wire and was hanging upside down by her toe. Arg, accidents! So her legs aren’t broken but she can’t stand up. Could be a sprained tendon.
Edited after checking my notes again, vitamin b riboflavin per member Eggcessive, who wrote 1/2 Tablet of Naturemade B complex dissolved in water for ducks. Also I believe preventing the hen from running around, yet giving her range-of-motion exercises a few times a day should help prevent damage from sitting too long (physical therapy).

 

[Cider240]

Excellent, I have some Nutridrench arriving tomorrow. So I'll keep my fingers crossed that helps the healing!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sounds like a strained tendon, the equivalent of a groin pull in a human. It's going to be painful for a while and the cure is rest and time. If you can, keep her in her crate or cage where she is in sight of the flock but can't actually interact with them physically. This way she will still be socially connected to them. Healing may take a couple of weeks, maybe longer. Try to take her out of the crate for an hour or so a day in the house so she can stretch and exercise (physical therapy) in order to strengthen. Be sure she has feed, clean water, oyster shell and grit and she should do well. Good luck!

 

[JCaseyHammond]

Sounds like a strained tendon, the equivalent of a groin pull in a human. It's going to be painful for a while and the cure is rest and time. If you can, keep her in her crate or cage where she is in sight of the flock but can't actually interact with them physically. This way she will still be socially connected to them. Healing may take a couple of weeks, maybe longer. Try to take her out of the crate for an hour or so a day in the house so she can stretch and exercise (physical therapy) in order to strengthen. Be sure she has feed, clean water, oyster shell and grit and she should do well. Good luck!

Thanks BigBlueHen53!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I would still like to see if @Eggcessive has anythung else to add, she has far more experience in these matters than I do. My advice is theoretical, hers is experiential.

 

[HollyWoozle]

I’m sorry about your hen. We had a hen arrive in July (ex-battery rescue hen) and she was limping badly the day after arrival and then would not weight bear. She didn’t put that foot down for 3 weeks and we ended up keeping her separate for a few months, making her a run inside our main run and then putting her to bed in a separate small coop each night. After she started weight bearing again she began laying and seemed really healthy - we fed her well but were reluctant to merge her with the others as her limp continued. Eventually we gave up on that plan as we decided she will limp forever and she was miserable kept separate, so she has now been back with the flock for months and the limp has never gone. The rooster does favour her but it hasn’t made her limp any worse, so I assume she just healed that way and it will never go.

At the time of injury there was no obvious damage or swelling to her leg. You could pick her up and manipulate it without noticing anything odd or her showing any signs of distress, so who knows! I think these things can take a long time to heal and I am sure we did the right thing but separating our hen, Gisela, for so long to give her injury a chance to repair as much as possible. To this day she does sleep in a nest box instead of on the perch as I think it’s more comfortable for her.

I’m sure your hen will come right with time, since she is already standing on the leg and seems in good health otherwise, and in my experience the best thing you can do is keep her safe and offer her the best in terms of nutrition (as others have said).

 

[Eggcessive]

With injuries, I would keep her with her flock inside a wire dog crate with food and water secured to the side, and make her a warm nest inside there to sleep or lay her eggs. I have had hens who injured a leg, and who limped for about 6 weeks although she was able to get around and roost at night. I should have probably limited her activity in hindsite. Another hen limped for a couple of years, but she always went with the flock everywhere they went even if she laid around. She eventually withered away and died, but she was happy for most of her life. I suspected that she might have had a spiral fracture that never healed. Injuries are hard to identify without a vet or xrays. So, I would try forcing rest. B complex vitamin 1/4 tablet daily crushed into a spoonful of water or into some food may help. Aspirin 1/2 of a low dose 81 mg tablet can be given twice a day for 2-3 days. Vets often will prescribe meloxicam, but it is only available with a prescription. Some also may use glucosamine/chondroitin or cbd oil, but I have no knowledge of dosage. We use those on our arthritic dogs, as well as Deramax or Rimadyl which are by prescription only and can be be dangerous if there is a liver problem.