Chicken with injured leg.

[frostic]

this is a long story. so my chicken cuddly used to beat up on the other 2 chickens eating their feathers, so i gave them a bigger area and let them free range in the day. so she stopped picking on them, but now they started picking on her. well yesterday I went out there and she is limping. there is no blood or open wounds on her but she can't use one of her legs. I checked it very carefully for broken bones and it doesnt feel like there is any broken bones. day 2 now and shes been inside with me. she tried to fly out of the box she is in its 1 foot tall and she was unable to even fly up that high.
she is eating and drinking normal but shes laying all day. i put an ace bandage on the leg i think is hurt anyone got an idea how i can help her without going to a vet? i think she sprained her leg trying to get away from the other chickens. and when she poops it looks normal so i know shes not bleeding. any ideas?

she is 9 months old

edit: I used to be able to pick her up and play with her. now every time i try to pick her up she poops clear liquid with the white cap stuff in it. and she seems scared, shes never been scared of me before.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If it's a sprain or strain it should improve with rest and time.

 

[Eggcessive]

Looks possibly like tapeworm proglottids. They usually move when the dropping is fresh. Each proglottid can hold many worm eggs. Snails, slugs, flies, and earthworms are some of the common hosts, so removing those hosts and poop is important. Here is a video:

Tapeworms are best treated with praziquantel which can be found in Equimax horse paste. It can be given orally at 0.16 ml for a 5 pound chicken. How much does she weigh?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Could be Mareks. Often other birds pick up on illness in a flock mate long before the human notices. Chickens will go after a sick or odd acting bird sometimes.

 

[frostic]

Do you put identification bands on your birds? I’m assuming probably not with such a small backyard flock, but if you do, sometimes the band will ride up on the leg and lodge itself high on the leg under the feathers. Often the human can’t see it, but it causes a lot of pain for the chicken.

I only have 3 chickens. I don't have any bands on them. they always been aggressive to each other since I got them as chicks. the do ring around the chicken. one month they pick on cuddly, then one month on blondy then on dasie. that part is normal to them changing the pecking order. but this time they went too far on cuddly or she maybe got caught in the fence and twisted her leg i dont know. but they always pick on eachother alot. they are rhode island reds.

 

[aart]

well yesterday I went out there and she is limping. there is no blood or open wounds on her but she can't use one of her legs.

Lose the ace bandage.

If it's a sprain or strain it should improve with rest and time.

This^^^


If limp is really bothering them by inhibiting their normal activities too much, I will isolate them in a crate to 'force' rest for a day or two. Letting them out late in day, an hour before roost time, to give them a stretch and evaluate their mobility, then decide if they need another day and put them back in crate off roost after dark. Repeat stretch and eval the next day until they are better. Keep crate in coop so bird can remain 'with' the flock.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[Eggcessive]

Kitchen scales found in the kitchen gadgets at Walmart, are fairly small and inexpensive, and weigh in grams and pounds. What breed is she?

 

[frostic]

it is confirmed they are moving. so it is worms...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Just wash you hands after handling your birds or doing stuff in their area. I grew up on a farm and have lived on one my whole life. If anyone should have worms I should, but I don't.

I have always used barn lime to dry out areas and kill any worm or parasite eggs. Generally the worms in poop will die quickly as they dry out. Adult worms generally can't survive outside a host. Worm eggs wait to be eaten by the correct host to hatch and grow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock , you know of a different way to treat the ground?

I don't Your suggestion of washing hands is a good one along with using a little barn lime.
Don't wear your chicken shoes in the house?!!
Honestly I have never worried about contracting worms or anything from my animals.