Foot and leg injury thread

[FluffyPuff]

This thread is for people who's chickens have any type of leg,foot or toe injury/deformity. I will post pictures of solutions to common problems and me and other members can answer questions.

 

[amycw]

Hi, I noticed my maran had some blood on her feet..the others were following her around and pecking at her feet..i seperated her into a seperate area overnight.I don't see anymore blood ..would she be safeturn with the rest of the girls tonight?

 

[Shofizzle]

Hi, I noticed my maran had some blood on her feet..the others were following her around and pecking at her feet..i seperated her into a seperate area overnight.I don't see anymore blood ..would she be safeturn with the rest of the girls tonight?

Most likely. Make sure you clean the blood off well and check for certain if it's stopped bleeding. It doesn't sound too serious so if you do that she should be just fine to return to the other chickens.

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

im glad I found this thread!!

so my problem starts like this: I have been having trouble getting my chooks to lay, so I went out and brought 20 pullets off this man who breeds and sell pullets (this was about 2/3 weeks ago) I brought them home and put them is a tiny coop, because I don't have a quarantine coop, and after a few days they all looked quite health (I felt really mean have them all locked up in a small coop) so I let them out with my other chooks!
anyways over the last couple of day I've seen 2 pullets limping, I was concerned but I couldn't see any injures or anything so I didn't really worry about it. but this morning I went down to unlock my chooks and I see another pullet laying on the ground 'cos she cant walk properly either, and I collected the eggs and saw ANOTHER pullet lying on the ground on her side, I thought she was dead, but she wasn't, and her head and neck are all bloody and plucked, it was probably another chook that did that, so I put the 2 pullets that I found today in my other little pen, and when I see the other 2 that are limping i'll put them in there with them too!!

but does anyone know whats wrong with my pullets??
thanks for any help

 

[Pippychick]

Hello, first time poster and chicken owner here with an issue I can't seem to fix. I ordered 11 chicks of various breeds and one of them came with a busted leg. After researching I discovered it was a slipped tendon that could also have been infected/broken? I did everything I could to help this little one by trying to wrap it, which didn't really work and have been giving her vitamins and everything I found to be helpful. She is separated with her sister from the rest of the flock and is able to eat, drink and hop around on one leg. She is finally growing some wings and getting a little bigger, but much much slower then the rest. The infection is gone and now there is a hard knob on her hock(?)
From all the info I've found, it seems that it's not going to get any better and she will have a hard time if she does survive. In most threads it seems that 'culling' her may be best but I don't think I am capable of doing that even though suffering would be worse for her. Especially when most recommend cutting their heads off! Ahhh! I am a vegetarian and may have a little to much empathy for animals. I cry even at the thought of taking this cute fluffy little life, but it also pains me to see her struggling and am concerned about her future quality of life. I've had people say she could be a very spoiled house chicken if she survives, someone even said to amputate it...not something I would ever be comfortable doing either! I've decided to let time tell if she's going to make it into adult chicken life. If she stops taking drinks and snacks from me and stops moving I will have to pay whatever the vet charges to euthanize her.
I went into this new experience with the possibility of a die off, which luckily hasn't happened, but having to take one out myself never occurred to me.I feel like there are plenty of handicapped animals out there that live decent lives, maybe this little chick ( I made the mistake of naming her Hope) could be like them too. I feel like this experience has already turned me into a crazy chicken lady and probably sound like one to some readers here, but I really just love animals. There is not a bone in my body that could kill anything more then an insect...
Any info, advice or thoughts are appreciated. Being a newbie to the bird world has been great and also fascinating. Learning so much and enjoying the experience.

Thank you

 

[Shofizzle]

Hello, first time poster and chicken owner here with an issue I can't seem to fix. I ordered 11 chicks of various breeds and one of them came with a busted leg. After researching I discovered it was a slipped tendon that could also have been infected/broken? I did everything I could to help this little one by trying to wrap it, which didn't really work and have been giving her vitamins and everything I found to be helpful. She is separated with her sister from the rest of the flock and is able to eat, drink and hop around on one leg. She is finally growing some wings and getting a little bigger, but much much slower then the rest. The infection is gone and now there is a hard knob on her hock(?)
From all the info I've found, it seems that it's not going to get any better and she will have a hard time if she does survive. In most threads it seems that 'culling' her may be best but I don't think I am capable of doing that even though suffering would be worse for her. Especially when most recommend cutting their heads off! Ahhh! I am a vegetarian and may have a little to much empathy for animals. I cry even at the thought of taking this cute fluffy little life, but it also pains me to see her struggling and am concerned about her future quality of life. I've had people say she could be a very spoiled house chicken if she survives, someone even said to amputate it...not something I would ever be comfortable doing either! I've decided to let time tell if she's going to make it into adult chicken life. If she stops taking drinks and snacks from me and stops moving I will have to pay whatever the vet charges to euthanize her.
I went into this new experience with the possibility of a die off, which luckily hasn't happened, but having to take one out myself never occurred to me.I feel like there are plenty of handicapped animals out there that live decent lives, maybe this little chick ( I made the mistake of naming her Hope) could be like them too. I feel like this experience has already turned me into a crazy chicken lady and probably sound like one to some readers here, but I really just love animals. There is not a bone in my body that could kill anything more then an insect...
Any info, advice or thoughts are appreciated. Being a newbie to the bird world has been great and also fascinating. Learning so much and enjoying the experience.

Thank you

I know how you feel, I've dealt with this problem twice, and only one survived. With the first time it's happened, the chick was only a couple weeks old, and it lived on for the next couple months or so before dying. It never really grew. The second one survived, however, and she's just fine now, with no problems at all. I don't really know what to tell you at this point, if your chick does survive, she will always be a lot smaller than the rest. Continue giving her what you are until she is able to return to the others. Best of luck to you and all good wishes to your chick.

 

[Shofizzle]

im glad I found this thread!!

so my problem starts like this: I have been having trouble getting my chooks to lay, so I went out and brought 20 pullets off this man who breeds and sell pullets (this was about 2/3 weeks ago) I brought them home and put them is a tiny coop, because I don't have a quarantine coop, and after a few days they all looked quite health (I felt really mean have them all locked up in a small coop) so I let them out with my other chooks!
anyways over the last couple of day I've seen 2 pullets limping, I was concerned but I couldn't see any injures or anything so I didn't really worry about it. but this morning I went down to unlock my chooks and I see another pullet laying on the ground 'cos she cant walk properly either, and I collected the eggs and saw ANOTHER pullet lying on the ground on her side, I thought she was dead, but she wasn't, and her head and neck are all bloody and plucked, it was probably another chook that did that, so I put the 2 pullets that I found today in my other little pen, and when I see the other 2 that are limping i'll put them in there with them too!!

but does anyone know whats wrong with my pullets??
thanks for any help

When chickens first see another chicken they haven't met before, they can sometimes attack one another, establishing a pecking order. Your best bet is to clean off all the blood from your injured chicken. When chickens see blood they will do anything to peck at it, which will only make the problem worse. Wash her off with hot water and soap and gently pat it dry.
Make sure your chickens are eating and drinking water as well. It's good you keep the injured and limping chickens away until they get better. Whenever we get (a) new chicken(s) and put them with the rest, they usually fight at the beginning but end up getting along. Best of luck to you and your chickens

 

[FluffyPuff]

im glad I found this thread!!

so my problem starts like this: I have been having trouble getting my chooks to lay, so I went out and brought 20 pullets off this man who breeds and sell pullets (this was about 2/3 weeks ago) I brought them home and put them is a tiny coop, because I don't have a quarantine coop, and after a few days they all looked quite health (I felt really mean have them all locked up in a small coop)  so I let them out with my other chooks!
anyways over the last couple of day I've seen 2 pullets limping, I was concerned but I couldn't see any injures or anything so I didn't really worry about it. but this morning I went down to unlock my chooks and I see another pullet laying on the ground 'cos she cant walk properly either, and I collected the eggs and saw ANOTHER pullet lying on the ground on her side, I thought she was dead, but she wasn't, and her head and neck are all bloody and plucked, it was probably another chook that did that, so I put the 2 pullets that I found today in my other little pen, and when I see the other 2 that are limping i'll put them in there with them too!!

but does anyone know whats wrong with my pullets??
thanks for any help   

Your right it's probably the other chickens. When you introduce ANY new bird whether its a pullet or an adult it will always be at the lower end of the pecking order. Keep the pullets separated and then tend to their injuries with vetricyn. Vetricyn is like a miracle spray that will heal injuries very quickly. I've used it on myself, my chickens and even my cows and horses. So definitely use that on any bloody areas after they have been cleaned. In addition to that wrap deep cuts in vet wrap. This should help them. If they continue to limp make a brace like shown in this book, "Storey's guide to raising chickens":

this will help a pullet or hen stand up while its leg heals.

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

thanks for everyones help!!

 

[Beakz]

i noticed the swelling and blackness today, but i think she may have had it for a while, i simply havent taken note of it. she has a small limp but nothing you could recognize without watching her walk around for awhile, thanks