Bandaging a leg

[TazGal]

So my beloved Roo is recovering from a raccoon attack. Everything is going well. Vet helped me pull him through the worst of it. Wound on his back is healing beautifully and he's active, preening, eating and drinking. The problem I'm left with is the leg. Initially it was quite swollen, so much so I couldn't tell what was really wrong with it. Skin was not broken. He can walk but can't run. Daily epsom salt soaks, aspirin, homemade anti-inflammatory salve rubbed on the joint (hock) have brought the swelling WAY down. But the leg pains him. He reacts to the joint being touched, even gently. When he runs he kind of does a step/hop and avoids using the leg. When he walks seems ok though that leg is slower to move forward. Although I can stretch the leg back, he can't seem to do it to when he wants to stretch, sort of lifts the leg straight up, stretches out the wing and then puts the leg down again. He can bring it up to scratch and he seems to be able to jump up to things but has trouble using that leg to step over or up a step if he has to put his weight on it. Today he is lifting it up and holding it a lot because I think it's aching. Vet appt is in a couple days but in the meantime I would like to wrap the leg for support to make him more comfortable. I can't find anything online showing how best to wrap a leg for hock support. Do I wrap up and over the hock to the thigh? or do I wrap only above and below and leave the joint free to flex? Anyone know how to do this?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not wrap it, especially if he seems in pain when it is just touched. If he has not broken bones, it would not help. He sounds like he has a sprain or sore joint. The pain may help him keep from over using the leg. That is just my point of view—others may have different opinions, such as giving an anti inflammatory pain medicine such as meloxicam or aspirin. Splinting could impede circulation, but it might strengthen his joint when walking. Can you post any pictures of his leg in case we can spot something obvious?

 

[TazGal]

I was a bit concerned about wrapping for that reason also but was trying to think of a way to ease his discomfort. At night I help him get into a comfy position lying on the good side and towel bunched under the bad leg to rest on. He stays the way I put him. If I don't, he stands all night and looks miserable the next day. He loves when I hold him and let the legs dangle on either side of my arm. He relaxes so much he goes to sleep. Initially the whole leg was swollen from top to toe but now it's just the joint and just above the joint and yet it seems to almost bother him more than when it was hugely swollen as he is only now off lifting the leg up and down, up and down and then picking at the crease in the joint once or twice. Here's pics: 1st and 2nd pic right leg, third pic close up of the sore leg at the front (you can see the skin is a little red). In the first pic you can see the joint is a bit swollen...viewing the inside of the leg.

 

[TazGal]

also he has been getting aspirin for 5 days but vet suggested that shouldn't go for more than a week. I give him a 1/4 of a regular aspirin twice a day. hence the vet appt to maybe get some meloxicam. I don't think it's broken...nothing sticks out or looks oddly angled and I would think if it was broken he wouldn't be able to use it at all. Maybe I'm just impatient and not giving it enough time? it's been 2 wks

 

[coach723]

I think having it assessed by a vet is a good idea. It could be a sprain/strain, or could be a non-displaced or hairline fracture. I also would not wrap it, but if he's calm enough you might try using a chicken sling for periods during the day to take the weight off and let it rest. It does need to be supervised so he doesn't freak out and hurt himself worse. Here are some examples.

 

[TazGal]

Thanks for the pics...yes I did have him in a sling one day when he was having a particularly bad day a few days back. A pillow case suspended over a laundry basket did the trick. He was tired that day and actually dozed off but when I tried putting him in it the next day he was restless and didn't want to stay. I had been letting him outside supervised in the morning because he is getting a little bored and depressed in a mudroom with only a cat wandering up occasionally to sit and chat. I have a barrier in the doorway so he can still see me in the kitchen milling about but the little bugger hops up on the barrier and wants to come in the kitchen. So the problem is that I think he jumps up on things and then jumps down and it aggravates the leg further. If I keep him locked up in the crate he paces back and forth like a maniac even though it's an extra large crate and roomy. So yesterday I tried my best to keep him grounded. And I think he has lost his confidence. When I take him outside he won't stray far from me and every little noise (even me just getting up out of the lawn chair) sends him hobbling for cover. So I'm not only dealing with injuries but mental trauma as well. What happened, in short, was that I was going through some difficult times and rehomed the flock to someone I THOUGHT was a good fit. But when I went back a week later to visit found him in terrible shape, untreated wounds from raccoon attack in which all his hens were killed and he alone was survivor. They had him in a very insecure 'pen' so they were sitting ducks. I negotiated to get him back and by the time I went back the next day he was wobbly on his feet, rasping and gurgling like a percolator and by next morning I was rushing him to vet 2 hr ahead of his appt because he was in so much distress I thought I'd have to put him down but vet thought he had a strong will to live. You can imagine my guilt feelings because poor fellow did not deserve this and was always a very good roo. So two weeks later he is bright and perky, slowly regaining a ton of weight he lost, eating and drinking, wound on his back under his wing (the side with the injured leg) is healing at what I think is a miraculous pace considering it was almost down to the bone and was literally a bite of flesh taken out of him a couple cm deep. Initially his whole leg was grossly large. So he's made tremendous progress and maybe I'm just impatient to see him well. The lifting and putting down of the foot was, I thought, a sign of pain. But today I'm wondering if it's him working the leg. Today he stood all his weight on that leg while he scratched with the other and later I saw him start to stretch it back and he got it a tiny bit back where before it was lift straight up and then down. So I believe we are dealing with a really bad sprain and it may take several more weeks to be 100%. I guess I just need to be patient. He's afraid to go outside though so I don't know how I will eventually get him back out to the coop to live. He has new hens waiting to come when he is well enough. For now I take him out for an hour or two for sun, fresh air, feel grass under his feet and he stays close to me and the door to the house. Maybe his injury makes him feel vulnerable and once he's healed he'll have his confidence back. I love him but I do not want a permanent house rooster LOL! this was the wound on his back

 

[coach723]

It sounds like he's doing well, all things considered. They can be incredibly resilient, so given time and support he has a very good chance to recover. If there is a fracture, that can take longer to heal, so several more weeks if that's the case. I would try to keep him from jumping on and off things, though he will likely ignore your directions. Hope you can get him well enough to give him some new hens for company, that will be a very happy day for him!

 

[TazGal]

Fracture or sprain, I guess as you say, it will take some time. I can't afford xrays to be honest, to find out which. I've already spent $250 at the vet as it is and just walking in the door on thurs will cost me $70. He is a bit better today because I diligently kept him from jumping on top of the dog crate during the day (was already locking him in it at night). But the confidence...hmmm...I pinned the door open this morning to let him go out without me if he wanted cuz I have a lot to do today. It's been open a 1/2 hour...he stands in the doorway and looks out, makes little noises, but isn't going. *sigh*

 

[TazGal]

So back to the vet today and it looks as though the leg is mechanically ok. It seems he had a pretty big abcess just above the joint, likely from a puncture wound (the raccoon's tooth or nail) that took bacteria into the muscle. She withdrew 3 syringe fulls of thick, milky fluid from his leg and he is now back on the really strong antibiotics (Baytril) for a few days. When they are done, if the swelling comes back he'll get it for another few days. She felt the leg and joint, and short of xrays to confirm, she felt that there was no dislocation or break. She believes it is just the abcess causing the problem because the infection affects the whole leg and is so close to the joint that it's affecting that too. She was really amazed at how much the back wound has healed in such a short time and aside from the leg thinks he is in pretty good condition. Can't believe two weeks ago he was so sick and weak he had collapsed and I thought I would be putting him down. What a trooper! When I got home he was pretty lively and perky so I guess he got some relief just getting all that fluid off.

 

[coach723]

Glad you were able to get it taken care of. I'm sure it was a big relief to have all that fluid removed. Hoping he can make a complete recovery now! Good luck!