Found chicken hanging now by leg! Foot injured!

[txageric]

I don’t know why title says “now.” It was a couple of days ago. Can’t figure Out how to edit title.
This is my 2nd chicken injured in one week. We’ve never had any chickens injured his badly, now 2 in one week.
So this one got on a bench with slats in it. I guess her foot slipped in the slat and she tried to jump off. I found her hanging almost upside down off the bench by one leg.
I gently got her foot out, and now she can’t walk. She eats and drinks and scoots around.
The leg doesn’t seem broken. The toes are together, she doesn’t spread them or move them.
Should I wrap in between the toes to help them spread back apart, or massage the foot a few times a day, or just leave it alone?
It’s not cold or discolored.

I let her sit under her favorite bush during the day with her siblings (she’s about 2-3 months old), and make sure she’s getting her food and water and snacks; then I bring her and the other injured one inside at night, and put them on a soft towel and newspaper, in dog crate with water (with added vitamins), boiled eggs, treats, and their food.
Is there anything else I can do besides pamper her, give her time, and keep her comfortable, and see how it heals?

I’m wondering about taping it to spread the toes, or wrapping between the toes. She doesn’t freak out if I touch it, so I’m not sure if it hurts. She is scooting better than the first day and putting more pressure on it, even raises up a bit before lying back down.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I'm sorry about your poor chicken. I can't help, but maybe @aart could help?

 

[FishMtFarm]

If she’s not walking on it then it hurts. Not sure wrapping is a good idea Incase swelling starts. I would set it in cold water a few times a day. Does it feel hot or warmer than the other foot?

 

[txageric]

I'm sorry about your poor chicken. I can't help, but maybe @aart could help?

Thank you so much for tagging someone who may can help! I realized that was butchered with typos. My autocorrect is going nuts. I think I corrected everything so hopefully it will make more sense by the time that person reads it. Thank you so much!

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Thank you so much for tagging someone who may can help! I realized that was butchered with typos. My autocorrect is going nuts. I think I corrected everything so hopefully it will make more sense by the time that person reads it. Thank you so much!

Your welcome, someone just replied though.

 

[txageric]

If she’s not walking on it then it hurts. Not sure wrapping is a good idea Incase swelling starts. I would set it in cold water a few times a day. Does it feel hot or warmer than the other foot?

It hasn’t gotten swollen yet. It doesn’t feel hotter or colder, but I will keep checking on that. Thank you for that advice!

The reason I thought it may not be hurting is because I thought what if she completely lost feeling in it. I thought maybe that was why she wasn’t walking on it or moving it. I would rather her have feeling in it though than it be dead.

 

[aart]

Pics of injured foot would help.
Splinting foot might be a good idea.
I would isolate bird in a crate so foot/leg can rest.

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.

Thought I had a link to splints...can't find it.
@coach723
@Wyorp Rock @casportpony @WVduckchick @Eggcessive

 

[coach723]

Splinting manual attached. Sometimes when they 'tweak' something it can take a while. Not only does it need time to heal, their brains need time to accept that it isn't stuck anymore. I had one get hung up in a hen saddle and it took her two days to accept that it wasn't there anymore. She would take one step and lay down like it was still stuck. I crated her until she acted normal again, so she wouldn't get attacked. She might also benefit from a chicken sling for periods to allow it to rest with the weight off. You do need to supervise so she doesn't freak out and hurt herself more. Some examples below.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would look all over the leg for any bruising, swelling, or a cut in the skin. There sounds like some nerve damage, hopefully temporary, from her being stuck and flailing around trying to get unstuck. Splinting above and below a broken bone after the ends are aligned if the bone is fractured. An xray by a vet could confirm a fracture. Be careful splinting to not get it too tight to cut off circulation. Padding, popsicle sticks, strips of vet wrap are good for splinting. Perhaps keeping her crated before doing anything else to observe if she is able to move the leg might be good to do. Make sure that she can get to food and water. Aspirin can be used for pain—an 81 mg tablet given orally twice a day may help. Some prefer not to use pain meds to keep them from using the extremity. A sprain or a broken bone may take several weeks to heal.

 

[FishMtFarm]

It hasn’t gotten swollen yet. It doesn’t feel hotter or colder, but I will keep checking on that. Thank you for that advice!

The reason I thought it may not be hurting is because I thought what if she completely lost feeling in it. I thought maybe that was why she wasn’t walking on it or moving it. I would rather her have feeling in it though than it be dead.

Pinch her toe really hard. If she pulls away she has feeling and the foot can be salvaged. If she doesn’t even wince or react then the foot is gone.