chicken with hurt leg

[newchickinflock]

I purchased a 1yr old barred rock today and when the guy was catching her he seemed to be rough with her but I didnt think much of it. When I got home and let her out of the box she was limping and is hoping around on 1 leg I have her in a pen away from the other birds but im wondering if there is anything I can do to help her or is her fate the stew pot?

 

[Judy]

Really, the first thing I'd do is let him rest. If necessary, find him a safe place for him to lie around without getting attacked. I assume you have looked him over for an obvious fracture, etc. If you can't find anything, there is a fair chance that it is some sort of strain or sprain and he will recover on his own, in time.

Here is a great article on leg and foot problems in birds:

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

It's linked in the Emergencies sticky.

 

[newchickinflock]

I have her by herself now and im just letting her rest. I only have a small backyard flock of 4 chickens and i sold 1 that was constantly broody so this was her replacement. my new chicken with the hurt leg seems to freak out more when i go by her probably because she is in a new place, hurt and scared! should i just try to leave her alone today so she has time to not be stressed or should i go examine her again? i checked out her leg last night but i dont think i did a good enough job as i should have because she was so upset.

 

[newchickinflock]

I have checked her leg and there arent any obvious breaks could it be something in her hip broken?

 

[theoldchick]

Hopefully she simply has soft tissue injury that will respond to a few days of isolated cage rest. Otherwise the rough handling may have dislocated her hip and she will be permanently lame.
Good luck with her.

 

[newchickinflock]

Is there anyway to get her hip back in place?

 

[theoldchick]

Normally, a veterinarian will put the hip back in after verifying through radiographs that the hip is indeed out of the socket. The hip is forced back in by skillful manipulation and then the leg is bandaged to keep the hip in place. It is best if the patient is sedated for this procedure. The longer the hip is out of place the more difficult it is to put back in.

Otherwise keep the hen separate from the others until she is able to get around. With time, a displaced hip will stabilize enough to allow the hen to get around, but she will be lame.