Help, hen was stuck in the door all day UPDATE #53doing well

[Sunny Side Up]

I think that splinting often causes additional problems while curing the break. The splint can help the broken bones to break but then the bird needs chicken physical therapy to rebuild its muscle & ligament tone.

A dark & quiet place sounds good, give her good nutritious food so that every bite helps her rebuild. Try some yogurt or ACV to help her gut restore its balance.

 

[ams3651]

the foot on that leg doesnt seem to have any control. The toes are just pulled in and if i move them she doesnt react or try to move them. Yet she doesnt seem to be in any pain and is very pleasant to me.

My concern is I dont have the time to keep this chicken inside for weeks and rehabilitate her. Its a cruel world but the fact is she is a farm animal. I guess I will give her a couple days and see. After that, if I have to, maybe someone will want to give her a chance.

 

[chickenannie]

Seriously, contact "threehorses" on here. Do a search for her using the search function. she can advise you.

Just so you know, I've learned that chickens don't express pain... It has to do with them being predators at each other, and if they show any weakness the others will pick on the weak one.

Hope she recovers (it may be slow, but I'd give it a few more days).

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Each chicken owner has to determine for themselves just how much extra resources they have to spare to care for a sick or injured bird. There's a whole wide spectrum of attitudes from breeders who will cull for color to those paying for their pet chicken's surgical procedures. Don't feel bad if you have to cull or give her away once she's reached your limit.

Keep her in for as long as you can, then give her a try back with the flock. If she's not getting picked upon, or kept away from the food & water, or vulnerable to predators, she might be able to recover on her own there.

I wish you both great success!

 

[ams3651]

Quote:
I cant put her back with the flock at this point because she cant walk or stand or even keep her balance sitting. The leg is getting stiffer I think. I was raised on a farm so I dont have a problem with a farm animal being put down, its just that she seems fine other wise. But when it comes down to it I just dont have the time to put into it if she cant recover in the next couple days. She doesnt seem to be getting better and that upsets me.

 

[wombat]

Is the joint dislocated? That could be why she has little control over the limb.

 

[threehorses]

Hi there. I'm sorry I got to this late. Poor mama!

First, when the pullet was up there for a while, she wasn't getting nutrition, hydration, etc - likely was very stressed, and stress is in itself enough to make a chicken stressed.

I just want to clarify - was there any chance of actual injury? It's possible she has an internal injury that isn't obvious.

Also, is she of laying age?

First thing I would do would be just leave her there in the quiet place, and offer her easily digested and nutrient rich food: the water melon you offered (for water), water with vitamins/electrolytes are awesome for this sort of thing. Boiled egg, a little yogurt.

I'm a little concerned about the droppings - is it possible that instead she just went in there after having had something toxic to eat? Could she possibly instead have gotten into any wet or soured feed/grain, compost, maggots, mildewy anything, old feed, algea water, mud, etc?

Also since her droppings are the way you've described, if you have any applesauce I'd give her a little of that, a few drops of molasses, her pellets/crumbles, a little yogurt, and water in a wet mash. These are good things to have around. (I buy babyfood applesauce because it's cheap and individually packaged and lasts ages in the cupboard). Give her a *one time* feeding of that to clear out whatever is making her droppings smell so bad.

If she's a laying hen, I'd also investigate the possibility that she had an egg broken in her.

I'll wait for your reply, but mainly right now the goal is to get nutrition and hydration in her, preferably with some vitamins/electrolytes in it. And see what tomorrow shows.

 

[ams3651]

Quote:
She may be laying but I cant say for sure, she is about 4 months and a nice small red comb. I have given her yogurt mixed with a little of her feed which she gobbled down, and plenty of water. I dont think it looks like an egg was broken. As for the leg, I cant feel that anything is broken or dislocated, the joint does appear to be a little swolen and warm but when I picked her up yesterday she flapped her wings and protested a little and was moving the leg but the toes remain curled. I dont think she would have had anything bad to eat, I dont know where she would have found it. I suppose there is a chance she may have an internal injury after being wedged there all day but how would I tell? I will check if I have any applesauce, I do have molasses, and try that. Thanks

 

[threehorses]

Well first, it's possible that her droppings were horribly smelly because they were concentrated. HOpefully that'll be it. You can look at her vent and it will tell you whether or not she's laying, as well as her comb. If her comb is bright red, puffy, and large - and her vent is widened, loose, dilated, and moist - she's in a laying state anyway. If the vent is small, tight, puckered, and dry - not laying or not usually anyway.

That's really good that she ate a heap of food and drank well. That's the main thing. The thing to do now is see how she behaves today.

I'm a bit concerned about her not uncurling her foot. Does she feel her foot? Is it curled because she's holding her leg up? (The toes will involuntarily curl is the bird's leg is like it would be in nearly a squatting position - the closer to a squat, the closer the toes curl - it's the inbuilt mechanism that allows them to sleep on a perch without falling). Maybe that's the cause. If the leg is stretched out a bit, do the toes uncurl?

Looking for an update.

 

[ams3651]

her leg will retract if i try to straighten it but she may be holding it back because when I hold her up she moves it. Her poop looked pretty normal this morning. I dont know, she wont even try to stand if I pick her out of the box.