Broken femur? Help

[PeaceLily]

Came home from work this arvo and found one of my hens with a very limp leg, not sure what's happened but this chooks a climber so I suspect she hurt herself whilst jumping off something too high. did some reading in these forums before checking her over properly, her toes don't move when I push the sole of her foot, when turned over on her tummy the leg is floppy below the knee, no significant swelling or obvious breaks but when I was feeling her leg there was a bit of a crunchy sound just above the knee cap. For now we did a quick splint on the upper leg before putting her to sleep so I could try and do some research before hopefully splinting correctly in the morning because right now the lower leg is still flopping around a bit.
Does this sound like a broken leg, maybe dislocation?

 

[coach723]

Without being able to examine the bird, I would be guessing. Hopefully this will be helpful, explains how to examine for , and how to splint various fractures, with pictures. It's for song birds, but the anatomy is the same.:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf
You may also need to use a chicken sling to take the weight off for a while, some examples below.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree with everything recommended by Coach323. Is there any possibility that you could see a vet for an xray? Those can be expensive, but if it is possible, it would be ideal to reduce and line up the two ends of the fractured bone for splinting. But I can understand if it is not possible. Splinting using padding, vet wrap, and a stiff flat object for splinting are important. Vet wrap can be applied too tight where circulation can be cut off, so care must be taken to get it on so that doesn’t happen. Those foam meat packages that we get from the store can be shaped into splint material. Other thins, such as tongue depressors or popsicle sticks work well also.

 

[PeaceLily]

Thanks for your replies! I love the idea of the sling, I don't know what vet wrap is but I will find out? Do you just get it from the vets? Taking her in is not an option right now, but if I don't think she's going to be OK by Monday that is what I will do

 

[Eggcessive]

Vet wrap is a stretchy cohesive bandage that needs no pins or tape. It can be cut into strips or used as is. It is sold in the horse section of feed stores, and the human version is usually found in first aid aisles of Walmart and pharmacies.

 

[coach723]

Tractor supply has it, called co-flex, in the horse section, lots of colors, I usually get black or white. It's usually 4" wide there, but you can cut into strips the width you need. I think it sticks to itself better than some of the pharmacy brands.

 

[PeaceLily]

Great thank you so much for your help guys! Just re did her splint with some softish sort of plastic that I have cut into shape, made her a sling which is working quite well so far. Need to go to work now but will go and look for some vet wrap afterwards. Have the next 4 days off work so I'm very glad I will be around to watch out for her

 

[coach723]

Best of luck with her. If it's a break, and depending on how the break is, it can take weeks (3 to 12 weeks depending on the break and how well the bone is aligned) to heal, so you will need to be patient. If it's very unaligned, or you feel that splinting it is not keeping it aligned well, then a trip to the vet is probably best.

 

[rebrascora]

How old is the bird? A floppy leg is often a symptom of Marek's disease which is sadly, probably more common than a chicken breaking their leg. Just something else to bear in mind, especially if the bird is in the 2-8 months range and there is no obvious injury. If there is a break, I would expect some swelling or sign of trauma. Most people, myself included assume an injury when they first see a bird with Marek's.

 

[casportpony]

Came home from work this arvo and found one of my hens with a very limp leg, not sure what's happened but this chooks a climber so I suspect she hurt herself whilst jumping off something too high. did some reading in these forums before checking her over properly, her toes don't move when I push the sole of her foot, when turned over on her tummy the leg is floppy below the knee, no significant swelling or obvious breaks but when I was feeling her leg there was a bit of a crunchy sound just above the knee cap. For now we did a quick splint on the upper leg before putting her to sleep so I could try and do some research before hopefully splinting correctly in the morning because right now the lower leg is still flopping around a bit.
Does this sound like a broken leg, maybe dislocation?

Are you sure it's the femur?