Chicken leg slightly twisted

[Chicky3]

Hi I have a chicken, and ever since one of the kids decided to put a string around her leg as a leach, her leg has not been the same.
I think one of the kids pulled to hard on the string but now our chicken stumbles and hops while she runs.
She's about 17 weeks old but she's quite small.

Is there anything we can do to help her leg???

Thanks for your help.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like she has a good chance to do alright with some care. I am with theoldchick on leaving her with the others. Sometimes a sling or chick chair can be used to rest a leg--just put food and water nearby.

 

[Eggcessive]

That is tragic. Examine the leg for swelling or displacement of bones. A break or sprain should be rested for a couple of weeks. The pullet also could have a slipped tendon, but only you can know for sure. Read this thread post #4 by TenChicks on how to fix a slipped tendon in an older bird: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/886081/options-for-a-slipped-tendon-in-9-week-old-pullet

 

[Chicky3]

Thanks for your help and link to the post, it was super helpful.

The leg feels the same as the other one and looks fine, but the upper bit, like the bit that joins to her hip bone (?), difficult to explain but that bit feels tender and whilst massaging she did express that it hurt.

We massaged as best and gently as we could, we're going to keep giving her massage sessions every day and see if we can fix it.
Though it's a bit difficult because we're not exactly sure what's wrong.
No bones feel broken but she does stumble and flap her feathers out as if to gain balance whilst walking sometimes.
The left leg also kinda twists out a bit and I don't know how to fix it or pop it back to the right position.

I'll continue to update as we carry on investigating and massaging.

Thanks again.

 

[theoldchick]

If she dislocated/fractured her hip, she can recover with time. Cage rest is recommended, and keep her away from the kids. By cage rest, I mean she needs to be kept as quiet as possible for about a week and then carefully reintroduced to the flock.

A pet carrier is handy for these types of situations:



Or you can fashion a seperate area in your coop to allow the hen to recover but remain near her flock:


If you decide to bandage the leg, remember it can't be too tight, and be mindful on how fast she is growing.

If you are truly dealing with a fracture or dislocation your little pullet will recover. However, if you are dealing with a viral or bacterial infection that has traveled to the brain, you will note the symptoms getting worse. She may be unable to hold her head up or unable to walk. If this is the case she may not survive.


Good luck with her!

 

[Chicky3]

Oh that's good news, thanks so much. I really hope she can recover soon.
Is the reason to put her separate from the others because the others might pick on her? I only have 2 other chickens and they all get along maybe because they're still young. Or should I put her separate in a smaller enclosure so she can't run around so much?

Yes I bandaged her leg with some old cloth and she tried so hard to get it off that we abandoned that idea, maybe we should use a proper bandage?

I think what made her leg a whole lot worse is what happened yesterday morning, our chicken coop is about 60cm off the ground and they normally all fly out instead of walking down the ladder.
Yesterday morning she flew out like she normally does but also kind of "fell" out at the same time and landed quite badly because of her bad leg couldn't support her properly.
So today I will carefully try and lift her out so she doesn't have to fly out and land badly again.

Thanks for your help, will update again later on.

 

[theoldchick]

That's the thing about treating chickens. You want to help them but sometimes trying to help them causes more harm. If putting a bandage freaks out your chicken and causes more stress than the injury, then leave the bandage off. Limiting her activity will help the leg heal. As you noticed the jump to the ground may cause more issues. If she hurts her other leg, then you will have an immobile chicken which is not good. Yes, her flock mates may try to eliminate her especially if competition for food is severe and space is limited. You will be a better judge of that and do what you need to help her in this situation. Since you have only two more youngsters, you may be safe allowing her with them. But you can't allow her to jump and run about.

Good luck!

 

[Chicky3]

Okay, this morning I tried making a bed rest like the picture Eggcessive has shown.
I made it using an old pair of underwear.
But I'm not sure if this is the right way?
Do you think this is supporting her right?

 

[Chicky3]

I decided to take her out of the sling because she tried to escape a couple of times and I felt sorry for her.

Instead I made a little make shift tent/enclosure thing on the lawn so she could sit and eat grass inside the enclosure without running away, I put some food and water inside as well.

Again nothing seems broken but she sometimes lifts the leg up whilst walking and the leg seems to bend in a little.

Since it seems to be a muscle or tendon injury is there any type of balm or special food that will help her recover?

 

[Eggcessive]

A regular wire dog crate would also be fine, so that she could be left with the others for company. I hope it is just a bad sprain, and not something more serious such as Mareks disease or a bone deformity such as a rotated tibia or tibial dyschondroplasia. A couple of weeks of resting the leg may help. I would give her poultry vitamins in her water, or dissolve a vitamin B complex tablet in her water each day. If you are in the UK this is a product that you may find locally: