Chicken accident, maybe broken bones? What to do with her?

[walkeasy]

Last night I was splitting wood and a hen came out of the bushes at the same time a log went flying. It hit her right on. She is able to limp around, using her wing as balance sometimes. I'm not sure if anything is broken. If it is, it doesn't seem to be her leg, maybe her hip area or worse. Hard to say. Now she is in a dog kennel in my garage as the other chickens starting attacking her.

Being that she was able to limp about 150 feet on her way back to her house, she may have a chance?

Not knowing the damage, whats the best for her? Should I keep her in the cage a few days and see if she is able to get up and move around any better?

At what point do I call it quits?


Thanks for your help.


PS her sister must know of what I did as she flew over the garden fence for the first time this year and starting eating up on my freshly planted buckwheat cover crop..

 

[walkeasy]

I could post pictures of her and her posture, if that would help.

I have been reading that reintroducing the girl may be troublesome as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to isolate her in the dog cage in the coop or run where she is still around the others but protected from trouble. If she won't eat well, you can feed her some scrambled eggs chopped up, put a bit of water in her feed to make it wet. Does she have any broken skin? She should start doing better unless she has internal injuries or broken bones. I would give her several days to a week. I probably wouldn't let her suffer if she won't eat/drink or if in a lot of pain. Some have recommended a baby aspirin for pain, but it also can cause bleeding if she has internal injuries.

 

[R@ndy]

You might want to isolate her in the dog cage in the coop or run where she is still around the others but protected from trouble. If she won't eat well, you can feed her some scrambled eggs chopped up, put a bit of water in her feed to make it wet. Does she have any broken skin? She should start doing better unless she has internal injuries or broken bones. I would give her several days to a week. I probably wouldn't let her suffer if she won't eat/drink or if in a lot of pain. Some have recommended a baby aspirin for pain, but it also can cause bleeding if she has internal injuries.

Sounds like great advice to me, Good luck. Hope she is ok

 

[Mathew544]

chickens aren't any different from any other animals, including humans. If they get hurt it can take a while before they're back on there feet. Be prepared to give up some of your time to take care of the chicken, especially if she can't move around well (feeding, giving water, cleaning her backside). It would be ideal to keep her around the other chickens in a protected cage. Chickens are very social and do not do well in isolation. Good luck and I hope she gets better soon!

 

[sarahsunshine]

One of our chickens injured her leg a week or so ago when my husband was moving the chicken tractor. She wouldn’t put it on the ground. The others did not attack her, so we just left her and figured that if she wasn’t eating after 2 days, or was losing weight, we’d give her the hatchet cure.

Whenever I fed the chickens (we have 7 layers), she would hop her way to the feed trough, lie down and gobble. She was getting plenty of food. 3 days after the incident she was hoping around on one leg, managing just fine. I thought we’d have a one-legged chicken. Then I found her in the nest box laying an egg (she has to go up a ramp and into the coop) that same day.

Yesterday she was putting a small amount of weight on the leg. She still isn’t roosting in the coop at night, but she has shelter enough so she’ll be fine. In another couple days I might start putting her in the coop at night (if I can catch her!).


I would say, watch her carefully to make sure she is getting enough food and water. Isolate her nearby if she’s being attacked (like you have in the dog crate). If she doesn’t improve, have a feast. If she does, put her back in with the others once she can hold her own.

 

[walkeasy]

That is all very good sounding advise. I can move her out of the garage and in with the chickens. I am at work and I am anxiously curious to see how she is doing. I know it is my fault this time and that is harder to handle than the dog or a hawk.

I will keep you posted.

Oh and no broken skin.

 

[sarahsunshine]

I always worry about depression and it's effects on health when you remove an animal from their normal, healthy environment. Chickens are ouutdoor critters. Sunshine and scratching around are what make them happy. I would worry that being isolated in a garage might have more impact on her than the injury itself. I see it as if someone suddenly put me into solitary confinement in an unknown place. Maybe I’m exaggerating. Maybe giving her some ashes to bathe in would at least give her something to do. She would probably like a bath, and it would be good for her in case she managed to pick up any mites (or is bored). Do you have any kids who could catch some grasshoppers for her?

 

[walkeasy]

Doesn't really appear that she moved much. She did lay an egg so that at least tells me here pelvis is in somewhat good working shape. She did use the bathroom once, which is bad in my opinion. She should have done more. Didn't touch her food or drink. I gave her some cooked wild rice in a bowl with water. Put this right up to her so that she didn't have to get up. She did eat some of this. That was good. I could not move her out with the other chickens, this will prove as difficult and I must be around to continuously mover her from the sun. I can do this all weekend as I will be home all day. Hopefully I can figure something out for a more permanent setup.

So the one day report is so so..

 

[sarahsunshine]

Sorry she sounds rather lethargic.

I would keep feeding her soaked or fermented feed so that she is getting water that way. Give her a couple more days to improve if you can. Can you set up a tarp over the kennel to protect her from the sun? Warmth from the sun is good for healing, but not too much (sunstroke).

Best of luck!