Chicken Sling

[Tiffany42]

I posted earlier in regard to my hen and if it could be broken or perhaps just a slipped tendon. This is my first time ever with an injured hen and I am not sure what to do or if my sling is correct. My hubby thinks its fine but I think she should have less weight on her leg because I do not want to harm her if it is broken or she is in pain. Any ideas on how to get the swelling down in the knee besides aspirin. She is over bath/ soak time since I have been cleaning her so often the last couple days to prevent any infections from setting in.

 

[Kiki]

Is taking her to a vet an option?

 

[Tiffany42]

We do have a few avian vets outside of my city. However non of them do surgeries or X-rays etc. that I have found yet. My sweet baby is eating really well and drinking plenty and moving around a lot more but She is not even trying to use that leg or stand up. I have her on some low dose aspirin, penicillin G for infection, and her sling except yesterday because all she did was whine and try to get out so I had to let her out to prevent injuring herself more.

 

[Eggcessive]

You might want to keep her activity restricted in a dog crate with food and water, and let her lie down to rest the leg. Keep the crate in the coop or run where she is still part of the flock. Some chickens do not like or do well in a sling, and can try so hard to get out that they end up injuring themselves. Just make sure that she can reach her food and water. It can take up to several weeks for sprains to heal. I would stand her up some to make sure thather muscles don't atrophy.

 

[Tiffany42]

We have her in a large dog crate inside the house with plenty of food and water and some treats now and then like strawberries, watermelon, yogurt and tuna to encourage her to eat more but in really small doses. She seems fine inside by with us all day. We did have her outside yesterday with the flock and and they laid with her in the grass which I think she really enjoyed. We plan on keeping her inside as long as possible to ensure it heals fully but still introducing her to the flock as well so they don't isolate her when we reintroduce her. Thank you so much for the positive feedback it has definitely eased my thoughts tremendously.