Broken Leg/Foot

[ryanfamilyflock]

I accidentally shut my chicken's foot in the coop door! It is a large heavy door that often gets jammed so I didn't think anything of it. She is always the one who likes to try to escape and is the fearless leader of the flock. I scooted her back but I guess not far enough before I shut it. I was unaware and it was stuck for a few hours. I cleaned up the wound, brought her inside to monitor (for now) and bandaged it. Last night I splinted it after watching a video. She cannot bare weight on it and lays down most of the time. We are on day two since the injury. I suspect it is broken from the ankle. She can't move her toes all that much either. With that said, I did she her moving her injured leg down in a scratching motion as she was trying to figure out how to balance yesterday. She is eating, drinking and seems alert. She allows me to give her first aid with ease but she is a very friendly chicken to begin with. This is my 8-year olds son chicken and he wants me to spare no expense to save her. My husband thinks we should cull her. I am torn because I have read about their ability to heal and I am hoping I can see some changes in a few days with the treatment I have provided. I obviously don't want her to suffer either but not sure what to expect here. How long before I would notice any positive changes. She was trying to stand more yesterday (on one foot) but not as much as I would like to see. She is in currently in a large clear tote with a hardwire top in my dining room. It's getting stinky fast, lol, but I am able to at least see how she is doing so I can determine the next steps. I am also trying to figure out how to give her asprin but I keep reading confusing information. She is a small leghorn and I am not sure how to properly dose her. I understand you can crush and dilute in water. Suggestions on how to cut it and dose it in a half-gallon mason jar? Any advice welcome!

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Rap her foot to her chest so the foot can heal.

 

[coach723]

Based on the picture it looks like the injury is higher than the ankle on the leg.
I've attached a manual below that explains how to examine for fracture and how to splint various kinds. Make sure it's padded and not too tight. You want to support and keep any fracture in place, but not cut off circulation. Check it often for swelling.
If it's fractured, then as it heals a bone callus will form, and it may look like a lump or swelling. This article has a picture showing how that will look, and discusses healing time:
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2014/02/BrokenLeg.html
I would also use a chicken sling for periods to help her remain upright and let it rest, it will also make it easier for her to eat and drink. Do supervise, sometimes they may freak out and hurt themselves trying to escape it. Examples below.
For aspirin, it thins the blood, so if there is any bleeding it should not be used. I generally don't use it since the pain helps limit their activity so they don't make things worse.
Dosing I can find is 2.3 mg per pound of bird weight 3 times a day, or 25 mg per pound of bird weight per day. You can crush the amount and mix in a bit of moistened feed that she'll eat, or you can mix in water to allow her to self dose throughout the day. If giving directly then divide the total daily dose into 3 doses. Take her total daily dose, crush it up and mix it in the approximate amount of water she drinks in a day. A baby aspirin is 81 mg, a regular aspirin is 325 mg. Aspirin can cause digestive irritation, so watch for that.

 

[Hei 20]

I accidentally shut my chicken's foot in the coop door! It is a large heavy door that often gets jammed so I didn't think anything of it. She is always the one who likes to try to escape and is the fearless leader of the flock. I scooted her back but I guess not far enough before I shut it. I was unaware and it was stuck for a few hours. I cleaned up the wound, brought her inside to monitor (for now) and bandaged it. Last night I splinted it after watching a video. She cannot bare weight on it and lays down most of the time. We are on day two since the injury. I suspect it is broken from the ankle. She can't move her toes all that much either. With that said, I did she her moving her injured leg down in a scratching motion as she was trying to figure out how to balance yesterday. She is eating, drinking and seems alert. She allows me to give her first aid with ease but she is a very friendly chicken to begin with. This is my 8-year olds son chicken and he wants me to spare no expense to save her. My husband thinks we should cull her. I am torn because I have read about their ability to heal and I am hoping I can see some changes in a few days with the treatment I have provided. I obviously don't want her to suffer either but not sure what to expect here. How long before I would notice any positive changes. She was trying to stand more yesterday (on one foot) but not as much as I would like to see. She is in currently in a large clear tote with a hardwire top in my dining room. It's getting stinky fast, lol, but I am able to at least see how she is doing so I can determine the next steps. I am also trying to figure out how to give her asprin but I keep reading confusing information. She is a small leghorn and I am not sure how to properly dose her. I understand you can crush and dilute in water. Suggestions on how to cut it and dose it in a half-gallon mason jar? Any advice welcome!




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[ryanfamilyflock]

Based on the picture it looks like the injury is higher than the ankle on the leg.
I've attached a manual below that explains how to examine for fracture and how to splint various kinds. Make sure it's padded and not too tight. You want to support and keep any fracture in place, but not cut off circulation. Check it often for swelling.
If it's fractured, then as it heals a bone callus will form, and it may look like a lump or swelling. This article has a picture showing how that will look, and discusses healing time:
http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2014/02/BrokenLeg.html
I would also use a chicken sling for periods to help her remain upright and let it rest, it will also make it easier for her to eat and drink. Do supervise, sometimes they may freak out and hurt themselves trying to escape it. Examples below.
For aspirin, it thins the blood, so if there is any bleeding it should not be used. I generally don't use it since the pain helps limit their activity so they don't make things worse.
Dosing I can find is 2.3 mg per pound of bird weight 3 times a day, or 25 mg per pound of bird weight per day. You can crush the amount and mix in a bit of moistened feed that she'll eat, or you can mix in water to allow her to self dose throughout the day. If giving directly then divide the total daily dose into 3 doses. Take her total daily dose, crush it up and mix it in the approximate amount of water she drinks in a day. A baby aspirin is 81 mg, a regular aspirin is 325 mg. Aspirin can cause digestive irritation, so watch for that.
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Thank you so much for all of this detail!

 

[ryanfamilyflock]

Thank you so much!