HELP WANTED: Young Rooster Limping Badly - Seems To Be Worsening

[My Pretty Pekins]

I guess my title is fairly self-explanatory... but anyways. So we have three growers, 2 hens and 1 cockerel, who are between 3-4 months old. Over the last 3 or so days, this little rooster has been limping a lot and it seems to be getting worse. We have examined his leg (it's the left one) and concluded that there is NO sign of outward bleeding or bruising, and he barely flinches when we touch his leg except when we move right up to his hip, where the feathers are. He's very tame, which is convenient as we can easily check him daily.

We have no idea how he got injured, but we presume it is a sprain of some kind. We did have one idea of how he could have been injured - he and his girls like climbing on the log pile, and every so often they will knock some down. They're very agile and we've never seen them get hit before - but do you think he could have been? Maybe his foot got stuck between two logs or something? And how should we treat this for him - is there anything we can do?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I guess my title is fairly self-explanatory... but anyways. So we have three growers, 2 hens and 1 cockerel, who are between 3-4 months old. Over the last 3 or so days, this little rooster has been limping a lot and it seems to be getting worse. We have examined his leg (it's the left one) and concluded that there is NO sign of outward bleeding or bruising, and he barely flinches when we touch his leg except when we move right up to his hip, where the feathers are. He's very tame, which is convenient as we can easily check him daily.

We have no idea how he got injured, but we presume it is a sprain of some kind. We did have one idea of how he could have been injured - he and his girls like climbing on the log pile, and every so often they will knock some down. They're very agile and we've never seen them get hit before - but do you think he could have been? Maybe his foot got stuck between two logs or something? And how should we treat this for him - is there anything we can do?

That’s a possibility, maybe his foot got stuck and he has a sprain. I would keep an eye on him for a few days and see if it gets better. Many times an injury appears to get worse over a three or four day period before it starts to get better.

 

[My Pretty Pekins]

Thanks for your help - I'll keep an eye on him and see if he follows that pattern

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get a short video of him walking and upload it to YouTube with a link here? Does he hold his leg up, or does he put weight on it? Do you see any swelling of a joint, broken skin, redness, or green bruising on the leg or foot? Was he vaccinated for Mareks?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

we have three growers, 2 hens and 1 cockerel, who are between 3-4 months old

What is the breed? You mention "growers" are these meat birds?
Photos or video may be helpful.

 

[My Pretty Pekins]

No, they're not meat birds. Two (the hens) are Legbars and the cock is a Maran. I can't seem to find a way to get a video to upload, but I have noted that this morning the limp is a little less pronounced.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo with a link posted here, we can see it.

 

[My Pretty Pekins]

Okay @Eggcessive, I'll remember that and see what I can do.

 

[My Pretty Pekins]

It seems like I won't need to [make a video, that is]! Yesterday, there was significant improvement, today the limp is barely noticeable! It's amazing!