Broken toe? Pulled tendon? Any idea what to do?

[ChicksbyGrace]

Li'l Red is my 4 month old Sussex pullet. She was feisty self yesterday running around in the pen for my juvenile birds (4 to 6 months old). This morning she came out of the coop limping on one leg . I thought it was bumble foot at first. So I got chicken hospital ready. Soaked her in an Epsom salt bath and checked out her foot. There was no staph infection or cuts. At first there was a little bit of swelling in the center of the foot but it was gone after her soak with the salts.
Now she is resting in Chicken Hospital and Her grip with the injured foot is strong. I am surprised by that. She is still limping on the one foot with her toes curled under. She dosent want to walk so I'm pretty sure it is painful because she is an active bird. She is eating and drinking as she usually does. Has anyone dwelt with something like this? Any suggestions how I can help her heal?
Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd see what the foot looks like in the morning. See if there's any indication of green tinted bruising.

She may have injured it, can she hold the foot flat at all? Did you feel of the toes for anything out of place?

Hard to know if you should try splinting the foot or not. Sometimes over a few days an injury improves on its own with some rest and TLC.

If you decide the foot and leg need to be splinted/wrapped or stabilized, you may find this manual helpful.
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

 

[ChicksbyGrace]

Hi Wyorp Rock.
Thank you for the info and encouragement. I gave her 3 Epsom salt baths yesterday. I did inspect the foot. The foot is flexible and I was able to open it under the water and she could stand flat on it under the water. But, curled back under when I put her in the crate. I didn't see any bruising yesterday or this morning.
I didn't know chickens bruised. Thank you for mentioning it. It is good information to tuck away.
I wondered if it was a riboflavin issue. She is the only one in my flock with curled toes. And I do have one leghorn with some balance issues. This morning I started all of them (pullets, cockerels, and adults) on crushed B-Complex in the food until I can get some nutritional yeast. Oh and the treat today will be sardines .
Li'l Red is doing better this morning. The toes are still curled but not as tightly as yesterday. When she stands she is on the first joint and not on the 2nd joint.
putting it Altogether, It appears to be, as you said, she needs "rest and TLC." I think this one will take some time. I'll keep you posted...

 

[ChicksbyGrace]

Oh, Thank you for the document on splinting a bird's broken leg. Good info to have on hand. Hope I never need it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh, Thank you for the document on splinting a bird's broken leg. Good info to have on hand. Hope I never need it.

Hi Wyorp Rock.
Thank you for the info and encouragement. I gave her 3 Epsom salt baths yesterday. I did inspect the foot. The foot is flexible and I was able to open it under the water and she could stand flat on it under the water. But, curled back under when I put her in the crate. I didn't see any bruising yesterday or this morning.
I didn't know chickens bruised. Thank you for mentioning it. It is good information to tuck away.
I wondered if it was a riboflavin issue. She is the only one in my flock with curled toes. And I do have one leghorn with some balance issues. This morning I started all of them (pullets, cockerels, and adults) on crushed B-Complex in the food until I can get some nutritional yeast. Oh and the treat today will be sardines .
Li'l Red is doing better this morning. The toes are still curled but not as tightly as yesterday. When she stands she is on the first joint and not on the 2nd joint.
putting it Altogether, It appears to be, as you said, she needs "rest and TLC." I think this one will take some time. I'll keep you posted...

Sounds like she may have injured it then if she's doing a little better.
Yes, they can suffer bruising just like anything else. She may be keeping it intentionally closed or curled since that may be the most comfortable position at this time. Sort of like you if sprain your hand or fingers, keeping the hand partially closed can often feel better than splayed open. If she continues to improve slightly daily then I'd just let her heal with time.

Giving the soakings at least once a day can be helpful to soothe swelling and inflammation, so if she's tolerating that and you have time, I'd continue with that too.

Giving the B-Complex or Nutritional yeast won't hurt at all, so that's a good idea.

Hopefully she will heal up with no issues, keep me posted.

 

[ChicksbyGrace]

Hello all, Here's an update. It's been a busy week here. Li'l Red, Broody hens, storms (Though we in North Florida need the rain), extreme heat when not raining... Whew, Here we go:

There is improvement. In the Epsom salt bath Li'l Red will stand on her foot normally if I straighten out the foot while she's eating her treat (1/4 hard boiled egg crumbled). When in the crate she is still curling her toes but mostly on the 1st joint instead of the second joint when she first injured the foot. I'm still giving her B-2 and vitamins in her water. and taking her outside for sunshine, and to peck around. (She can't out run me LOL. Though yesterday evening she figured out she could use her wings to out maneuver me until the owl started hooting )
Through all of that I'm concerned that she is not progressing more to standing on her foot. I'm going to look into splinting the foot. I'm a little scared of it.

Back in April I had one chick I was working with to correct splayed leg. I got her braced She flew out of my from table height, I couldn't catch her and she broke her leg. I splinted the leg as instructed. Then we found her dead in the morning. I think she gave up. So I'm a little scared to try it.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello all, Here's an update. It's been a busy week here. Li'l Red, Broody hens, storms (Though we in North Florida need the rain), extreme heat when not raining... Whew, Here we go:

There is improvement. In the Epsom salt bath Li'l Red will stand on her foot normally if I straighten out the foot while she's eating her treat (1/4 hard boiled egg crumbled). When in the crate she is still curling her toes but mostly on the 1st joint instead of the second joint when she first injured the foot. I'm still giving her B-2 and vitamins in her water. and taking her outside for sunshine, and to peck around. (She can't out run me LOL. Though yesterday evening she figured out she could use her wings to out maneuver me until the owl started hooting )
Through all of that I'm concerned that she is not progressing more to standing on her foot. I'm going to look into splinting the foot. I'm a little scared of it.

Back in April I had one chick I was working with to correct splayed leg. I got her braced She flew out of my from table height, I couldn't catch her and she broke her leg. I splinted the leg as instructed. Then we found her dead in the morning. I think she gave up. So I'm a little scared to try it.
Any suggestions are appreciated.

I'm glad you are seeing some improvement.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with the chick, how sad.

For this girl, she's older and you would just be basically wrapping the foot flat, so hopefully this will help. Do check wrappings at least once daily to make sure they are not too tight and restricting circulation.

 

[KimsSporty]

From what I researched on my first hen two years ago that started with a limp then progressed to curled toes to not moving but everything was fine eating and drinking the articles all lead to vitamin deficiency and unfortunately by that time I figured that out she was too far gone and had to be culled.

 

[ChicksbyGrace]

Hello.
It has been a tough couple of weeks. I have been working with this hen and she started to respond to testing her leg after the Epsom salt soak where I stretch out her toes and she can stand normally in the water. (I still do the soaks daily).
She started standing on both feet in the crate and then resting or alternating foot down flat then lifted up under her standing on the uninjured foot.
I am also taking her outside and letting her roam the garden. Except now she is hopping on one leg or flying short distances.
After trying to wrap the foot with the vet tape that sticks to itself, I tried making a splint. none of that worked. It was a disaster trying to stabilize the foot.
Today I gave up and ordered a splint set designed for chickens and other birds. I hope this works before she gives up entirely. I will try to get pics posted in a few days when I get the splints and get them in place. I will keep you posted. I hope this works. I really like this hen but if it doesn't I will probably have to cull her before the other chickens do it. first. She can't live by herself in a crate. It's not good for her.