Help! Hen has Injured foot!

[JoeInPA]

Bedding cleaned out-

New bedding-

Ms. Lamefoot-

Dog crate with food and water-

 

[Shezadandy]

Im glad you were able to see the problem, thank you! I wouldn't have noticed that. I will need someone here to help me hold her so that I can wrap her foot but that won't be for several hours at least. In the meantime, I have a dog crate that will fit inside the coop with some food and water. It measures 2'x1.5'x1.5' that I can get her into. She is very hesitant about being handled so it may cause some chaos getting her in there but hopefully one I have her in there she will be okay.

View attachment 1959587

No problem, thanks for the very clear excellent pictures. That helps so much!

Nice job on the coop prep!

See how she does in the crate tonight - I would wait until she's splinted to put her in, so if she bugs out and flops around - the leg is protected. The main thing is to keep her from jumping off the roost in the AM while she's healing. If she wigs out and acts like a feral cat in a trap in a trap- she may be better out with the others.

As for the poopy coop bedding -- you could probably alleviate the problem with a "poop board" under the roosts. Some just use a plywood board as a shelf to catch the 'nightly leavings' - I covered my poop board with a 1/4" rubber mat (comes on a 30" wide roll by the foot at the farm store) that doesn't absorb the smell or the moisture … and I can take it out for a good pressure wash if need be. Some use sand on theirs for easy scooping with a cat litter scoop every couple/few days, some use Sweet PDZ powder or granules. Saves on bedding!

That keeps ours quite a bit cleaner. We only have to change out the floor bedding every couple/three months with the poop boards in place.

 

[Shezadandy]

Thanks for the compliment on the truck, i just parked it for the winter (yeah I'm too much of a wuss to take it out in the salt and snow!)

We're lucky to be out of the land of the ice and snow except for the occasional big ones that mess everything up - they don't use salt around here - just a deicer they spray on, which obviously doesn't do much when stuff sticks, but it keeps rain that freezes onto the road on really cold nights from causing problems. But yeah, even with 4x4 … I just leave the truck parked in winter conditions. Not worth it- especially on ice. Rather drive my front wheel drive sleigh with chains (and airbags!!) if driving must happen.

 

[JoeInPA]

Thank you! I'm sure she'll be combative about being in the crate. Her and the rooster are practically attached at the hip, they follow each other everywhere, so if shes in the crate I'm sure he and she both will audibly let me know they aren't happy about it.

A poop board is probably a smart idea. I have some plywood leftover from building that coop that should suffice. I do use pdz or coop n compost in the litter. Definitely keeps the smells down. It doesn't get smelly at all, just poop filled.

Side question- how often do you change the bedding in the run? I'm using straw and I just changed it for the first time today. It wasn't that dirty but it gets damp just from being on the soil. We have very muddy ground here and the bedding wicks the moisture right out of the ground pretty quickly. I know some people use sand but I feel like that would be very difficult to dry if it got wet, even though I have a covered run.

 

[Eggcessive]

Out in the run, you might try using sand, especially if you have a sandy creek nearby. It can be easy scooped with a kitty litter scoop, or swept up with an old broom.

 

[aart]

Dog crate

Perfect fit!!

That waterer makes me nervous tho,
you don't want her spilling it(and it's almost guaranteed she will) and being wet in the cold. A smaller feeder would be good too.
Hopefully she doesn't kick up too much of fuss when you put her in there.
Not the time to change now, but horizontal nipples are excellent in our freezing climates, and easy to fit onto a crate.

 

[Shezadandy]

Thank you! I'm sure she'll be combative about being in the crate. Her and the rooster are practically attached at the hip, they follow each other everywhere, so if shes in the crate I'm sure he and she both will audibly let me know they aren't happy about it.

A poop board is probably a smart idea. I have some plywood leftover from building that coop that should suffice. I do use pdz or coop n compost in the litter. Definitely keeps the smells down. It doesn't get smelly at all, just poop filled.

Side question- how often do you change the bedding in the run? I'm using straw and I just changed it for the first time today. It wasn't that dirty but it gets damp just from being on the soil. We have very muddy ground here and the bedding wicks the moisture right out of the ground pretty quickly. I know some people use sand but I feel like that would be very difficult to dry if it got wet, even though I have a covered run.

I just dust the poop board (well, my mat) with the Sweet PDZ after every cleaning. With most of the chicken activities in the coop being roosting or laying eggs, a poop board should keep everything MUCH less poopy, because you'll catch it before it hits your bedding.

I don't have any bedding in my run- much too big. When I change out my bedding (I use the compressed pine pellets) in the coop, once it's all turned to dust and worn out, I put it out in the run- (poop goes to a different area of course) we're inundated with clay- so it always bleeds through, no matter what I do or add.

It would be a bit of an investment- but for your sized run, if you set it up to be something of a French drain with a good layer of gravel as the bottom layer - to percolate moisture down to the ground without sending mud back up - and letting your top layer dry much more quickly-- that's worked well at our new property when it comes to the driveway - we're the 2nd owners, so I don't know how much gravel it took, lol- but it sure does work! Then you can put your bedding over the gravel and maybe provide a tub for dust bathing.

 

[JoeInPA]

Perfect fit!!

That waterer makes me nervous tho,
you don't want her spilling it(and it's almost guaranteed she will) and being wet in the cold. A smaller feeder would be good too.
Hopefully she doesn't kick up too much of fuss when you put her in there.
Not the time to change now, but horizontal nipples are excellent in our freezing climates, and easy to fit onto a crate.
View attachment 1959670

Good idea, I'll take the water out. She should be fine for the night.

I'm going to the pharmacy right now to get some cohesive bandage. I found some perfect sized skewers that should make great supports, I will round off the ends so that they aren't sharp. Then my mother is going to help me wrap her up.

 

[JoeInPA]

When I got home from the pharmacy, she was already up on the roost about to go to sleep so I had to crawl inside the coop and grab her out. It wreaked a little havoc but she was pretty calm once I was holding her, save for one or two flare ups.

She does appear to be in the final stages of her last chick molt so I'm sure it's not very comfortable for her to be held, that said I was impressed at how well she maintained her composure.

I held her while Mom wrapped. Both of us were 100% out of our comfort zone doing this but here is where we ended up-

And here is where they are for the night. I will check on her in an hour or so. She was making some noise in the crate but the rooster seemed fairly calm. I took the waterer out of the coop entirely, btw.

Now I'm cold, sore and tired! This was mentally and physically exhausting work today!

 

[aart]

I was impressed at how well she maintained her composure.

Once you get a hold of them and keep wings from moving they submit pretty quickly. Soft talking will help calm both you and her. Each time you handle her you'll both get better at it.

I will check on her in an hour or so.

Check both her feet are the same temperature.
Unwrap tomorrow to look at swelling, not sure it needs to be splinted and wrapped,
might make swelling worse?

Now I'm cold, sore and tired! This was mentally and physically exhausting work today!

You did great!