BROKEN FEMUR

[sandloaf]

Poor girl. This summer my pullet broke her femur,never did splint it,just kept her in a small cage with lots of bedding.Tried to splint it a couple of times but she would freak out.Took a long time to heal.She is now fine and very spoiled.Have you tried offering other foods like scrambled egg,wet feed,or tuna? Something might get her interest.

Ahhhh im so happy to hear ur baby made a full recovery!
I saw an article on here for when its super hot out you put the food in the water and they drink while getting the food. Buttttt, she turned her beak up and refused to touch it. She would rather peck and move the hay. (Her duck sister Cassi gladly took care of the unwanted snack)

I am definitely going to try those snacks! Thank you! Im also going to get some frozen corn to see if that peaks her interest! Ill update you and try to take pics!

 

[Eggcessive]

If you think the area of the fracture is that high, I would probably remove the lower leg splint. Then do some more palpating to feel for displacement of bones. Here lower leg and foot is pretty bruised as well, so she really was injured. Maybe your vet could xray it, and help with further treatment.

 

[sandloaf]

The Femur is a thick bone (think chicken thigh), not easily broken. What you have splinted in the picture is the metatarsal. You could splint that nicely I would think where there would be very little movement of the bone but it would require wrapping the tape, or vet wrap, completely around the metatarsal from top to bottom, like a cast. It looks like you did a nice job of cushioning, can you do that over the entire metatarsal? I didn't see much hope thinking it was the femur, but the metatarsal might be a different story. The difficulty will be getting the tension just right, not too tight but tight enough to limit movement of broken bone that is causing the pain.

Nice bone chart, eggcessive!

Hi! We did it all the way up to her thigh! We used gauze, then cakepop sticks and then zipties all the way up to her i believe her fibula.
The next day when I went for a more in depth feel, i found the break and the bruising. I felt the snapped bones and pushed them together and I wrapped her fluffy drumstick in gauze and covered it with a layer of medical tape. Then I got two more cakepop sticks and wrapped the ends in medical tape to ensure they didnt cut her skin. I put one tucked in between her breast bone and thigh (the part that feels just like a drumstick) and the other on the outside.

We made sure there was a little bit of wiggle room to remove the zip ties and to ensure nothing but gauze touched her skin/feathers.

I felt horrible putting her through this pain but she just gave me soft little coos and scratched at the ground with her beak. Heres the molting bird again to show where I put the cakepops.

 

[sandloaf]

If you think the area of the fracture is that high, I would probably remove the lower leg splint. Then do some more palpating to feel for displacement of bones. Here lower leg and foot is pretty bruised as well, so she really was injured. Maybe your vet could xray it, and help with further treatment.

She has no control of her lower leg area. Im scared she’ll rest on it where its sideways or in another scary looking position. Do you think keeping it on will ensure the leg stays at the right angle?

I live in a very urban area. It breaks my heart but they dont see chickens, pigs, ducks, etc. As animals who deserve love and as much medical care as a dog should receive. I have a feed store in town but its all teens. When i brought my dog there they told me to put him down. All he needed was a heart worm pill and he lived for another 10 years. My first girl Henry had a cough as a small chick and they told me to kill her. We cleaned the coop and segregated her and it went away. She lived for another 4-5 years. I don’t trust them. Its always kill, kill, kill with them when they have a shelf of medicine for farm animals.

The doctor that will see my chicken is 3-4 hours away and wants 2k. My family and I can’t afford that unfortunately.

What do you recommend for the foot bruising? It was swollen and some cool water made it go down but I have no idea what to do for bruises.

 

[sandloaf]

Aspirin tastes awful, so putting it in the water is likely one reason she's avoiding it. While tucking your bird into the elbow of your non-dominant arm and body, and while that non-dominant hand has their waddles gently yet firmly pinched between thumb and forefinger, gently pry her beak open with your dominant hand. Once her mouth pops open quickly wedge your pinky finger of your non-dominant hand between the upper and lower half of her beak. With your dominant hand, poke the aspirin into her mouth towards the back of her tongue. Release her waddles long enough for her to swallow, repeat until the correct dosage has been administered. She may resist this procedure, but it doesn't hurt her at all, and in the long run, will ease her pain. Dosing is as follows: 25mg per pound of bird. Baby aspirin is preferred as it's buffered and tastes good, it has 80mg of aspirin. One baby aspirin is good for a bird just over 3 pounds, two baby aspirin would be good for a 6 1/2 to 7 pound bird. Standard adult aspirin (not coated) is 325mg, this would be enough for a 13 pound bird so you're gonna need to break this to get the right dose, and extra strength is typically 500mg, enough for a 20 pound bird but could be a good option if you had a 10 pound bird (break the dose in half).

Thank you! I honestly didn’t think that they could taste. I feel so bad! No one likes the taste of a pill.

I will try this tomorrow with my dad holding her. Thank you for the dosing!

 

[sandloaf]

Ahhhh im so happy to hear ur baby made a full recovery!
I saw an article on here for when its super hot out you put the food in the water and they drink while getting the food. Buttttt, she turned her beak up and refused to touch it. She would rather peck and move the hay. (Her duck sister Cassi gladly took care of the unwanted snack) We have tried wet corn crumble, rice, and for a treat dog food. She only likes the green ones i have no idea why but, she loves them.

I am definitely going to try those snacks! Thank you! Im also going to get some frozen corn to see if that peaks her interest! Ill update you and try to take pics!

 

[Aunt Angus]

So sad! I sure hope she mends. Please keep us updated.


I don't know that I would have known to even do that much nor the courage to do it! I'm impressed!

 

[sandloaf]

Its so hard to tell. Shes known for her big fluffy butt! So we had to dig through a million feathers. Underneath its bruised and when we trying to figure out if it was dislocated or broken it made a clicky noise.

Heres a picture I got off google of a little guy molting to show were it is.

The red circle in the general area of the break. Its all purple and blue. But im 98% sure its in the middle of the circle.

So sad! I sure hope she mends. Please keep us updated.


I don't know that I would have known to even do that much nor the courage to do it! I'm impressed!

Thank you! I will post a pictures!

She seems always to be the one who gets herself in trouble. About a year ago, we got a puppy and he ripped feathers out of her back. It was horrible. We saw her meat, made me stop eating chicken. But two days of sitting in the garage with antibiotic cream and kisses. She was great. We wanted to keep her another day but she gave me the stink eye, jumped out of the cage, and ran outside with her sisters to find bugs.

A week later the dog got too close. She made a noise, all the chickens followed her order and beat him up. He keeps out if their bubble now.

Shes one tough cookie!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thank you! I will post a pictures!

She seems always to be the one who gets herself in trouble. About a year ago, we got a puppy and he ripped feathers out of her back. It was horrible. We saw her meat, made me stop eating chicken. But two days of sitting in the garage with antibiotic cream and kisses. She was great. We wanted to keep her another day but she gave me the stink eye, jumped out of the cage, and ran outside with her sisters to find bugs.

A week later the dog got too close. She made a noise, all the chickens followed her order and beat him up. He keeps out if their bubble now.

Shes one tough cookie!

I have one like that - nothing nearly as serious as yours,

but she's never been "normal." She laid an egg internally, but passed it eventually. She got a bloodied comb that healed but is kind of torn. She lays very irregularly. Got scaly leg mites. And worms. And has seemingly perpetual bumblefoot.

Come to think of it, she was super needy as a chick, too, with pasty butt and crying incessantly for attention. But she's so pretty and sweet. Just love her.

This is Miss Iris:

 

[microchick]

I think you are doing an amazing job. The only thing I would suggest is using what we call vet wrap or flex wrap bandage to stabilize the splint and make sure that the split in well padded so it doesn't cut into her skin and cause a friction wound. Vet wrap is also called Coban.

For swelling if she will let you do it while you are holding her you could always wrap a bag of frozen peas in a small towel or wash cloth and use it as an ice pack against her leg and foot. Not too long. 15 minutes or so will be enough. You don't want to chill her or give her frost bite on her toes. A bag of frozen peas will mold itself to the contour of her leg and foot. We keep a bag on hand for people and animal use as an ice pack.

I think you are dong all you can do for her other than let time see if she is going to heal. Prayers sent.