Broken or sprain?

[getreal]

My 1 yr old silkie can't use her leg. It just flops if I pick it up and let it go. And it sits out and in front of her when she's sitting.

 

[elizabethjg]

It's broken. If you can find the break, try to splint it.

 

[Eggcessive]

An injury certainly would be common, but I would also consider possible Mareks disease, especially if she was not vaccinated. Have you added any new birds to the flock recently? Can you see any swelling or bruising in her leg. Do her toes curl at all when you touch them? You may want to make her a chicken sling to keep her upright and out of her waste. Put food and water within reach.

 

[getreal]

I have her in a sling most of the time. I felt her leg and can't feel a break anywhere. Could it be the joint? Since it's out to the side? How do you splint that, in the bent position or so she can move it? I thought of mereks too but it's only leg problem. To answer another question, she doesn't curl her toes. Her toes are warm but no movement just limp.

 

[getreal]

I have her in a sling most of the time. I felt her leg and can't feel a break anywhere. Could it be the joint? Since it's out to the side? How do you splint that, in the bent position or so she can move it? I thought of mereks too but it's only leg problem. To answer another question, she doesn't curl her toes. Her toes are warm but no movement just limp.

I still don't know how to help my girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

Without taking her to the vet for an Xray to look for a broken bone, there is not much you can do except to make her rest the leg, by keeping her crated with food and water. Try to check for a slipped tendon, which can be put back into place and splinted there. Can you post a picture of her standing? Make sure that she is getting a poultry vitamin or some B Complex in her water daily, in case of a vitamin deficiency. Here are some links for treating a slipped tendon, and to read to see if you recognize any of the leg bone deformities common in chickens:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1051/leg-health-in-large-broilers/
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._of_the_intertarsal_joint_in_broiler_chickens



SLIPPED ACHILLES TENDON IN THE HOCK JOINT:

A slipped Achilles Tendon in the hock occurs when the tendon that runs down through the groove of the back of the leg comes out of place. This condition causes a severe form of Spraddle Leg that cannot be corrected until the tendon is put back into place. Many times this is not possible to do and if not done quick or early enough, the bird is crippled for life. Many times this occurs with malnutrition of the breeder birds where the chick was unable to grow strong enough bones to hold the tendon in place.

Symptoms:
*The back of the hock will look flat (Compare to other legs to double-check).
*The bird won't be able to fully straighten its leg by itself.
*The bird will likely exhibit pain at least the first few days after injury. Birds may peep or cry repeatedly.
*The joint will become swollen after a while.
*Hold the joint between your thumb & finger and roll it back and forth. If the tendon has slipped, you will feel it snap back into place (and back out again, if the bone is not sufficiently developed). If you don't feel the tendon pop in, your bird may instead have a rotated femur, which requires surgery.
*One leg may rotate out to the side or twist underneath the bird (showing Splayed Leg), depending on whether the tendon has slipped to the outside or inside of the leg.
*If the tendons are slipped in both legs, the bird will stand & walk hunched down / squatting on its hocks ("elbows"), and may use its wings for balance.

If the bird has been like this for any extended amount of time, it may be too painful for you to fix and may cause other damage while trying to get it back into place. At this point, you might want to take the bird to the vet. However if you feel you want to give it a try, the easiest and least painful method on the bird is to gently pull the upper part of bird's leg a bit behind normal position and then carefully straighten the leg as though bird were stretching its leg back in a pretty normal stretching motion. Press gently against the side of the tendon if needed, and it should pop back into place pretty easily and cause little if any pain. Gently release the leg and it should return to a normal bent position.

If the tendon continues to pop back out, you can put the tendon back into place and wrap the joint and area with vet wrap to hold it in place. You will need to go a few times around the joint to hold it all together. Every few days you may need to loosen and rewrap as the chick grows. You will leave it taped for a few weeks until the chick grows stronger and larger. After the tape is removed the bird may be stiff. You can help the bird by stretching it's leg just as you did when getting the tendon back into place. The chick may have troubles walking properly for a while or it may never walk completely normal. Use your discretion in knowing when to put a bird down. Stop by this thread for more information on Slipped Tendons... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...chick-anyone-ever-try-to-fix-this-experiences

 

[getreal]

During the night Peanut lost her battle to recover. there was more wrong with her than just a broken leg.

 

[Eggcessive]

During the night Peanut lost her battle to recover. there was more wrong with her than just a broken leg.

Sorry for your loss. If you can refrigerate her body, you could ship or take it to your state vet for a necropsy and test for Mareks disease.