broken/bruised leg, foot swollen

[Buster's Banties]

Hi - hopefully someone out there knows what I should do -

I have a 8 week old leghorn with some kind of a compression injury on her leg. I suspect it got shut in a door but I don't know for sure. She turned up limping /hopping to the chicken coop Thursday dinner.

There's no blood or open wounds just what looks like a pinch but she won't put weight on it and her foot is swollen. It doesn't seem like she can move her toes, etc...

I've been keeping her inside and loosely wrapped her leg with a comfrey compress to stimulate healing. Surprisingly she doesn't try to take it off. We did a tea tree oil, calendula, jojoba oil lanolin rub down yesterday morning. She sleeps most of the time and just sits & lay her head down when we hold her. We've taken her out for short walks yesterday & today and she tries to hop away - which I take as a good sign.

She's eating, drinking & has good poops but overnight she started panting. Based on the sneeze she just laid on me I'm guessing she'd got a cold. We're inside with the air conditioning so I don't think she's hot.

I've been feeding her medicated chick feed since I brought her inside. The swelling in her leg isn't any better. It's now a darker yellow below the injury than above it and I'm starting to worry about infection & gangrene.

 

[Buster's Banties]

anyone?? ideas??

 

[Alley]

Last fall my Leghorn was attacked by a coon and it looked a lot like the injury pictured except at the joint all the skin was chewed off. Her claw was swollen just like yours. I kept my girl in a dog crate for a week, gave her some antibiotics in her water and I never wrapped the injury. I just kept her quiet and comfortable. A week after the injury she was out in the yard, she limped and held her leg up for weeks but she's now fine. Runs like a wild woman!

 

[Buster's Banties]

hmmm - interesting....my polish crested roo went missing about the same time. Found some of his feathers in the woods on my walk yesterday. Maybe he fell in the line of duty.