Help is Needed Fast! Chicken with broken leg!!

[Acresofchickens]

Hi Everybody,

I went out to feed my chickens this morning and one of my hens was hanging from the chicken wire upside down. She hadn't been like that the night before, so I suspect it was sometime during the night. When I got her out of the wire, I saw what happened to her foot. It was turned all the way around and bent right at the ankle. She is very calm right now, and she doesn't appear to be in pain, but I don't know what to do. We are keeping her off of her injured foot, and we tried to give her some food and water, but she won't take it.

Can anybody help me?

 

[Briza]

Are you sure it's broken and not dislocated? The latter can be gently put back into place but the former I have no experience with.

 

[fish220]

In this situation we will need to have some pictures as words can do only so much. If she is fine with a treat you can cut a tomato as chickens love tomatoes, or you can give her a watermelon slice. This is so she at least eats. If she eats the watermelon slice she would be fine while we analyze your problem.

 

[Acresofchickens]

I felt it and it is completely broken off from the leg. It is still in the skin though. Pictures coming

 

[chiques chicks]

I have never treated a broken limb in a bird, but I would gently work it in to position and split it using gauze against the skin and something like pieces of popsicle stick wrapped with very tape to hold it in position.

Keep her in a small cage or crate with easy access to water and food to limit her movement until it healed in place, even if movement is limited in that foot.

I have a rooster who list both get to frostbite over the winter, and he still manages, to get around and survive in the run with all my other birds, although he can't get up the ramp into the coop. Animals can adapt amazingly well.

 

[Acresofchickens]

 

[Acresofchickens]

Hopefully splinting will work. Starting now.

 

[chiques chicks]

The cage you have next to it may be a good hospital room. I would add straw to it as a cushion.

Also, try yogurt as a year, the protein will be good for it. I have mixed crumbles in yogurt when nursing an injured bird. Using a syringe without the needle to drop water in its mouth and giving it liquid baby vitamins without iron won't hurt, either.

It is in shock, just like people have.

 

[Acresofchickens]

Thank you all so much! The splinting was successful, she didn't panic.

For which I am thankful. She is resting right now and eating corn, and off of her foot. It was her ankle that broke. We set it hopefully correctly. Now I can relax and wait for dad to come home and check on her.

Would Strawberry yogurt work? Or does it need to be plain?

 

[chiques chicks]

Plain is better. Fruit yogurts have extra sugar added which isn't great for them.