Broken Leg

[mamasitahen]

I have a hen that is an 11 month old Barred Rock. I am pretty sure she got her leg run over by the car today. It just hangs limp and she obviously can't walk on it. Is there anything I can do for her? Or will she need to go in the freezer? If there is no hope for recovery then I don't want her to suffer, but if she has a chance to heal I would like to try to help her. She is a young, very nice hen.

Thank you!

 

[PapaBear4]

I think it depends on how much time your willing to put into her recovery. I've never rehabbed any of mine before. It'll probably be 3+ weeks of close observation at least. And I'd guess she's not going to be laying eggs while she heals.
My vote would be for the freezer, but that's me.
PapaBear4

 

[coach723]

I always try to give my birds a chance, if there is any hope. I would at least attempt. If she does not seem to be healing or improving you can always make the decision to cull at that point.
Here is a link to a thread with some info on treating broken legs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/659231/how-to-treat-a-broken-leg
You can also do a google or bing search for "poultry, broken leg" and find lots of articles.
Out come will depend on type of break, location of break, how much effort you are willing to put in, and whether any infection sets in.
Obviously there are no guarantees. In addition to splinting, you may need to use a chicken sling for a while to take the weight off, and you can search here to see how people have made them with boxes or crates.
Best of luck.

 

[mamasitahen]

Thanks for the feedback! I am going to try to splint it today and see how she does. I don't mind close observation for a bit since she is so young. If she were older maybe she'd be in the stew pot for dinner tonight. They aren't laying much now anyway, my 17 layers are only giving me about 3 eggs a day so I guess it is a good time to be in rehab..........thanks again!