"Baby" is limping

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

Noticed my Baby Wyandotte (5mo old named "Baby", she is still our smallest teenager) limping. I noticed from feeling her elbow, it's much larger than the other leg. She is still active as usual, but I wonder if one of my boys chased her and she sprained it or somthing. She doesn't care if I touch it or apply pressure, but she will stand on one legs and limp when walking.
Just wondering if I should seperate her till better, in my 2x3 dog crate (aka my hospital room) I dont want to freak her out. The boys seriously chase the girls for a quickie, all day. Or, since the chicks are using the run as their coop, I can put her in the coop alone and just close the biggie door to the run.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you post any pictures of her legs side by side? How many chickens do you have and how many cockerels or roosters? I would separate her in the dog crate, with food and water, but keep her with the other chickens, so that she will be forced to rest her leg. I would separate the roosters leaving only one with your hens. It can be very upsetting to have young cockerels running around trying to mate and irritating the hens. Usually one rooster is enough for 10 hens. When I was raising baby chicks, I had to thin out the cockerels by 4 months, or it would be chaos. Are some of your roosters young?

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

I have 18 girls (between 1yr and 5mo old) and 2 roos (5mo old). Her knee isn't visable, it's right where the leg feathers end from below the thigh, But it's definatly twice as thick in comparison to the other knee.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

My husbend suggested putting her in the "meat bird" coop... They are sooo big and lazy, they wont chase her and she can still have a 30ft by 10ft area to walk n free range, and they share the same fence line to the main chicken area where all her coop mates are... Hummmmm.. Thoughts?

 

[Eggcessive]

How does her ankle joint look? Is it or her foot swollen? You could try her in with the meatties, but if she has not been with them, they might injure her if they are not flockmates. She needs to be in a small area, so she does not overuse it. If a vet is a possibility, that would be helpful to get an xray to rule out a broken bone or hip problem.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

Its literally just the knee joint.. Foot n leg look great. I do work at a vet hospital. So I can get xrays free. I just dont like to over use my privileges. Especially since a have a vet required older dog.
So i will seperate her, in her own coop mate area. Maybe some pain killer? She doesnt respond when I touch it though.
If not better so, I will have her xrays

 

[Eggcessive]

You can give aspirin 81 mg twice a day or put some in her water 325 mg for every 8 oz (240 ml) of water. The vet could prescribe meloxicam for pain and inflammation. Hopefully, it is just a sprained leg.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

Wow that was very helpful.. Thank you sooo much. I have non coated aspirin for them. Wasn't sure of the dosage though. Thank You!!!#

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

Just got her started on meloxicam today.
Swelling has doubled. But she still doesnt flinch, when I touch, press, or bend it.
Still have her in isolation. (2×3 dog crate) in the coop so she can still be with her coop mates for some type of socialization.
Med is for 5 to 7 days BID depending on if swelling decreases.
Fingers crossed.

 

[Hughes Wildlife Farm]

Got x-ray done today.. Swelling went down and she was walking for a few day (seemed fine) than I caught her limping again. The bum leg is on the left side of the screen, at the joint.. Doc will give me, his out look of what the problem is, tomorrow. Doesnt look good to me, in comparison to her other leg