Help with chicken foot injury

[Mandyk0618]

One minute my chicken seemed fine and the next she was laying down, and when she attempted to get up and walk, she was limping very badly. I didn't see any cuts, but after comparing her two feet, the one is definitely blue/bruised and swollen. It doesn't look Iike the photos I've seen of bumble foot.

Can anyone give me any advice? Thanks in advance!

 

[coach723]

Can you post some pictures of the bottom of the foot?
You can do some soaks in warm epsom salts for pain and swelling. It may just be an injury. Foot injuries are not uncommon, it may have gotten hung up somewhere or she jumped from too far a height and tweaked it. You can gently feel the toe and foot to see if there are any obvious fractures, compare with the good foot. It may just need time to rest and heal. If activity needs to be restricted to let her rest it then a wire crate in the run works best, she can still see and be seen by the others and it's less stressful. Unless you are sure there is a break that needs splinting, I would not splint or wrap as swelling could make that a problem. You can also use a chicken sling for periods to take the weight off of it and let it rest if needed. You do need to supervise that, some birds tolerate it well, some do not, and you don't want her to get more injured trying to get out. Some examples below.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It looks like either a bad sprain or broken bone. It can take several weeks for those to heal. I would probably limit her activity inside a dog crate with food and water. You could take it week by week, but I would make sure that she can see and be with the other chickens. I’m not sure that splinting her foot would be helpful, but here is a splinting manual:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

 

[Mandyk0618]

Can you post some pictures of the bottom of the foot?
You can do some soaks in warm epsom salts for pain and swelling. It may just be an injury. Foot injuries are not uncommon, it may have gotten hung up somewhere or she jumped from too far a height and tweaked it. You can gently feel the toe and foot to see if there are any obvious fractures, compare with the good foot. It may just need time to rest and heal. If activity needs to be restricted to let her rest it then a wire crate in the run works best, she can still see and be seen by the others and it's less stressful. Unless you are sure there is a break that needs splinting, I would not splint or wrap as swelling could make that a problem. You can also use a chicken sling for periods to take the weight off of it and let it rest if needed. You do need to supervise that, some birds tolerate it well, some do not, and you don't want her to get more injured trying to get out. Some examples below.
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Wow, that was very helpful! Thank you so much for the response. Here is the bottom of the foot (not the best photo, but it's the only one I have on my at the moment) -

 

[Mandyk0618]

Welcome to BYC. It looks like either a bad sprain or broken bone. It can take several weeks for those to heal. I would probably limit her activity inside a dog crate with food and water. You could take it week by week, but I would make sure that she can see and be with the other chickens. I’m not sure that splinting her foot would be helpful, but here is a splinting manual:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

Great, thank you!!!

 

[Mandyk0618]

Hi again,

So Greta's foot looks so much worse today . She was on the roosting bar last night (I have a camera inside the coop), and I saw her sitting on a roost bar I have inside the run this morning as well. I'm guessing that getting down from both hasn't helped the situation. I checked out her toes and the middle toe seems especially limp so maybe it's broken.

I put her in the only crate I had inside the run. Should I leave her in here constantly during the day then transport it into the coop every night for awhile? Will she just lay an egg inside?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would keep her inside the crate day and night, and not let her jump up and down from the roost. Can you borrow a larger crate from a friend for the run, and then use the smaller one for the coop at night?

 

[Mandyk0618]

Okay, will do. I don't know anybody with a larger crate, but I do have a round baby gate I can use. Then I can put wire on top of it.