Help broken femur bone

[arkansaschicks]

I really need some help in finding information on correctly splinting a broken femur bone. My hen's break is pretty high up on the femur. She is a pet and putting her down is not an option right now. Any advice or direction on where to look would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. If a vet is a possibility it may be best. Splinting can be done with the bendable padded finger splints which can be shaped or some other stiff material such as popsicle sticks, padding, and tape. Tape can also be used in layers as a splint. High femur fractures do not always heal. Here are a couple of links to read about splinting:

http://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

 

[Eggcessive]

Vet wrap is a good thing to use with splints. Another link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/659231/how-to-treat-a-broken-leg

 

[PoultryPedia]

Some version of a spica splint is the only type of splint that would seem applicable. That's how it is for cats when the break is high on the leg. Although I don't know if a spica type splint would be possible on a chicken since I think it's used for front leg fractures.

However, putting her in a chick chair / sling (There are instructions on the Poultry Podiatry page on the website I have linked in my sig below) may allow it to heal without splinting.

We had a cat get a broken humerus. It would have been very expensive to have screws inserted surgically. Because the break was long (down the the shaft of the bone a lot, rather than just directly across the diameter), the vet innovated & went in surgically & wrapped surgical wire around two sections of the bone to hold the semi-splintered pieces together. This cost $300--much less expensive than the surgery would have been with screws/pins. I don't know how much you can afford, & if a similar procedure might be possible with your hen?

I do think such fractures sometimes heal without bracing of any kind if you are able to sufficiently restrict an animal's use of the bone.

Best wishes with your hen!

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a group of pictures of chicken slings the people have fashioned. I'm not sure this would work in place of a splint, but it might be of help. Whoops, I forgot to leave the link: https://www.google.com/search?q=sli...qevBaHXygG6mYE4&ved=0CE4QsAQ&biw=1920&bih=955

 

[ten chicks]

Here is a link showing how to immobilize bone using tape,a splint is probably not going to work with this type of break.

www.lbah.com/word/fractured-bird-leg/

 

[arkansaschicks]

Eggcessive how do I look at the pictures of the different slings in your last post?
To give a little more information about my hen. She is a petite blue laced red Wyandotte and what happened is one of my roosters figured out a way in to her pen. He must have been in there with her a couple of hours before I got him out. I am assuming he was just to heavy for her. I did take her to the vet yesterday and he confirmed the break and the location. His only option was surgery or put her down. I just don't believe, because she is so small that her bones would accept a pin. He did say the percentages of surgery working was not very high. For some reason he did not suggest splinting as even an option. Maybe the break is just too high to splint. I really like the idea of the slings!!! She really is a sweet, lovable girl and has always been mostly just a lap chicken. I think she definitely deserves a shot at trying to heal her leg.

Thank you so much for the info and let me know how I can see the pictures. Maybe I can fashion something if I can see some ideas.

 

[Eggcessive]

I forgot to add the link: https://www.google.com/search?q=sli...qevBaHXygG6mYE4&ved=0CE4QsAQ&biw=1920&bih=955

 

[Eggcessive]

A thread with some of same pics: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/546979/mareks-chicken-sling-pics-included

 

[arkansaschicks]

Thank you so much for the pictures!! Maybe a sling in her crate will work. She is very alert and seems to want to stand more than sit. She moves around very awkwardly to eat and drink. I would think she would not feel like moving around. I just hope she would not struggle to get out of a sling and hurt herself worse.