help... injured hen!

[cdtrum]

A wood board that was leaning against the barn fell in the wind today and landed on one of my hens......she is not walking well, we can not tell if i it is her wing , back or leg......she is eating and drinking.....I have her in a crate by herself......don't know what to do....take her to vet, wait and see what she does......or put her down?....any advice would be so appreciated....thanks

 

[tfpets]

Goodness, if shes eating and drinking, and not suffering, and you even have the option of taking her to the vet, dont put her down, in my opinion? Please, a little limp here or there is no big deal....Does she have a wound that you can see, that may be treatable with antibiotic ointment to prevent infection? Otherwise, she may just be sore?? Give it time, see what develops, like I say, if she not suffering?
Oh, and its a good idea to keep her in a quiet place while she recovers, it sounds like youre doing things just fine, she may just be hurt and not even be seriously broken. If she is, say has a seriously injured joint or something, it should become more apparent in a couple of days.
Someone with more experience should chime in, I just hate to see her put down when she potentially could have very little wrong with her. Ive had chickens near death, knocked absolutely stupid, or torn up by a dog, make a full recovery?
Tina

 

[cdtrum]

She has no open wounds....she doesn't act like she is in pain....just scared.....my husband has picked her up and carried her and she doesn't act like it hurts....when we sit her down though she leans to one side and can't walk very well......this is so upsetting....she is my most tame and favorite....the reason why this happened was we were doing some new fencing and as usual she was under foot......we are so very sad about this. I guess we'll see how she is in the morning and may just take her to the vet.
thanks!

 

[tfpets]

She sounds like a love! I have the same problem, almost stepping on or dropping stuff on my most affectionate, sweetest birds, I hope yours is okay.

I had one hop into the bottom of 50# bag of chick starter the other day. I almost closed the lid of my can on her, and it was 105 degrees out. She does it all the time, so I thought to double check, and sure enough, there she was, lookin up at me!
Good luck with your little girl!
Tina

 

[cdtrum]

Tina......thank you for your post of support and advice......I am sad to say that we loss Spots (our favorite hen) today.....saw the vet this morning and he agreed that she needed to be put down. A lot of people would say she was just a chicken....but she was more than that to us.....we had carried her around since she was 2 days old....she was so sweet and was always at my feet when I would be out in the barnyard doing chores. She was just 7 months old and been laying for us for 2 months.

 

[spydertoys]

I had a young Roo that got a leg injured somehow. He couldn't put any weight on his foot at all. I caged him so he was forced to "rest it" for a couple weeks..and slowly he came around and is now back with the flock. He has a very slight limp and of course has been crowned Limpy..but he is fine and I think he will make a full recovery.

 

[beakkeeper]

Oh, that's too bad! Really sorry about her. Like everyone has said, just give her a little more time, and a lot of TLC. Try some vitamins or electrolytes in the water to give her a boost. My best to you and yours! :aww

 

[Zookeeper9000]

I am so sorry for your loss. Hang in there putting a beloved pet down is never easy even when the vet says it is the thing to do.

 

[jjthink]

Hi. Just seeing this thread - so sorry about Spots. I was about to write back to suggest Rescue Remedy to help her with the stress/fear and maybe aspirin for pain but then read on and saw the vet had advised putting her down. If it's not too painful to talk about, what led the vet to that conclusion?
Jj

 

[SpottedCrow]

Darn...I'm sorry about Spots...
I'm curious too about why the vet thought he should put her to sleep.

They're NEVER "Just a Chicken"...