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

[chickenannie]

Yeah, I'm guessing that moving the leg a lot will help its circulation and keep it from atrophying in place (kind of like a knee or elbow injury). My 2 cents.

How's she doing?

 

[ams3651]

I feel certain her joint is dislocated. She is trying to use it i noticed today but it wont work. Its still warm but will only bend half way and now that the swelling is down I can feel the "wiggle" in the joint. I will continue to bend and straighten and hope it pops back in.

 

[ams3651]

Ok, so it turns out I am a softee and shes doing well. I had extra fencing so I set up a pen for her in the front yard and gave her a box to sleep in. Being in the grass she progressed in learning to walk. She is now doing well but I feel there is some kind of damage. She sort of throws her leg out front when she walks, like an exaggerated movement, but her toes seem to work just fine. Since its gotten cold the last week Ive been bringing her inside into a rubbermaid box at night. Yesterday she spent most of the day standing on a bench looking in the living room window. Today we had nearly 40 mph winds so I made her a little area right inside the porch door in the hallway with a cheap plastic tablecloth on the floor. She stayed there all day till tonight when i was making supper and this is what I saw....

I tried to reintroduce her to the flock, who had seen her several times in her outdoor pen, and she ran away. She was afraid of them. So I think I will be making a pen in the garage for her and a sister with a run outside. Id eventually like to have both pens in there for convenience and heating.

 

[sred98]

That is great news! I've been wondering how she's doing. Looks like you've got a special bird!

Watch out! My RIR learned how to come in the cat door from my dark cornish. I came home one day and they were running out of my bedroom! No telling what they were getting into.

Shelly

 

[easttxchick]

I am so glad she is on the mend.

Love the picture of her peeking in, too.

 

[threehorses]

Aww she's adorable!

She might have some permanent damage, but it sounds like she's definitely functional. If there was nerve damage, it'll take a while for nerve paths to regenerate. Just make sure that at least weekly she gets a little extra vitamin E, say a 400 IU capsule's contents to help her nerve regeneration. I think that would help, and it's been found to help with animals who are healing from neurological traumas.

Good job!

 

[cwhit590]

Well well...someone looks a little left out...

Good to hear she's improving.

 

[chickenannie]

Awww... great news! Thanks for the update. I got very attached to my hen that I had to nurse to health over a 6-week period. I like to think she got attached to me too, and that we understood each other, but.... who knows what she was really thinking.

 

[Cockadoodledon't]

I just came upon this post and following from the beginning to the end, I feel like I have just read a childrens book....

Glad to hear the bird is doing better!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Do you push the whole capsule down the bird's throat or pierce the capsule & squeeze the liquid out into their mouth? I have a BO pullet (now named Skippy) who was stuck for some time in a cinder block. Ever since she has trouble using one leg (hence the name Skippy). The hock joint is swollen. It moves easily & doesn't seem painful to the touch. She gets around fairly well and will even fly up to the barn rafters to roost with her buds. But she won't put much weight on the leg. I fear she'll target herself as hawk bait with that limp. I'd like to try the vit E and see if that helps.