Hen attacked, does she need a splay?

[Feanor]

Hi all, a dog got into my yard and attacked one of my hens. It looked as if it just caught her, didn't really try to do any damage. She has no puncture wounds and her bones feel solid, just a bunch of missing feathers. I've seen her manage to her feet a few times but 98% of the time she is sitting. She is eating somewhat well, cooked rice, boiled eggs, and watermelon, but not as much as she normally would.

Anyway, I think the dog twisted her leg or something because, as I mentioned, she can stand on her own but not more than a few seconds, so I imagine she's in severe pain. Also, she pants a lot even though she is inside (about 75-78 degrees). My question is, as you can see in the picture, she holds her right leg out.

Should I put hobbles on her to keep her leg under her where it should be so it doesn't heal up wrong? Or does she know whats best and I should let her keep it however feels most comfortable to her until she's ready to use it again?

When the attack first happened the day before yesterday I kept her in a snug basket that forced her to keep her legs under her, should I return her to that instead of hobbles?

She is my first chicken I've had her over a year so culling is not an option.
Thanks for your advice!

 

[Sylvestor12]

I'd check for leg wounds and/or belly wounds. If it's a brake, try to make a splint. If there's a wound, clean it and keep her legs together.

 

[dawg53]

It's possible that she could have unseen internal injuries, as you stated she's not eating as she normally would. Nothing can be done about that. As far as her leg is concerned, she could have an injured tendon or ligament, maybe her leg mightve been pulled out of socket, perhaps a fracture...only an x-ray could tell. There may come a time that her quality of life may come into play, and you might have to relieve her from suffering. Here's a link for you regarding leg injuries and treatments:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[Feanor]

Thanks for your suggestions. She is eating quite well, I made her some crumbles mash and she ate a whole egg and a few crickets I found for her. I checked her again today and she has no obvious wounds and her bones feel solid, she is acting normal apart from not being able to stand. I trimmed her vent feathers because she was getting a bit messy and I didn't want to keep traumatizing her with a shower to clean her off. She has a 3 week old chick with her to keep her company and they are getting along very well =)

I still don't know, though, if I should keep her legs together with a hobble. I've read about using them on chicks, but not on adult hens. Would it help her weak leg heal properly or just make things worse? Should I just let her be for a few more days to see what she needs?

 

[dawg53]

Thanks for your suggestions. She is eating quite well, I made her some crumbles mash and she ate a whole egg and a few crickets I found for her. I checked her again today and she has no obvious wounds and her bones feel solid, she is acting normal apart from not being able to stand. I trimmed her vent feathers because she was getting a bit messy and I didn't want to keep traumatizing her with a shower to clean her off. She has a 3 week old chick with her to keep her company and they are getting along very well =)

I still don't know, though, if I should keep her legs together with a hobble. I've read about using them on chicks, but not on adult hens. Would it help her weak leg heal properly or just make things worse? Should I just let her be for a few more days to see what she needs?

I'm glad she's eating, perhaps a good sign. Leg injuries take time to heal depending on the severity. Try giving her vitamin B complex, it may help speed up recovery. Vitamin B complex tablets can be purchased at a pharmacy. Crush a few tablets into powder and sprinkle the powder over her food to eat, do this for 7 days, then stop. The healing process may take a week or two, months, or never. I had a Black Star hobble around on one leg for a about a year before it finally gave out and I had to put her down. When chickens sit on the ground or perch, both feet are under them. That would be natural to have her feet positioned in that manner. However, if she moves her leg back out, it might indicate a problem and may require some type of way keeping the legs together under her in order to heal. Use your imagination how to do that, perhaps the link I provided you will give you some ideas. Good luck.

 

[Feanor]

Thanks for the advice Dawg, two weeks later and she is doing remarkably well! I did put a hobble on her and either it or time or both really helped, she found it much easier to get to her feet after I put it on. When I noticed her doing a lot of standing in the crate, I started taking her outside during grazing time with the others. The hens didn't even pay her any notice, but the rooster went mad trying to attack her! He is young but old enough to know how to do his business so it wasn't just him "trying to figure it out," he was biting and shaking trying to hurt her. So after I got tired of throwing flip flops at him to keep him off her, I decided to put HIM in isolation for a while

I let her chill in the pullet grow out pen with the youngsters and she got along great, so I finally got up the nerve to let her back in the grown up coop. Two weeks after her incident, she can keep up well enough (with a distinguished limp still) so I took the roo and put him in isolation and let her go back to her girls. After two days of her back in her pecking order I let the roo out, and he was soooo ... well, juvenile rooster cooped up for two days, you know .... that he was too interested in doing his business so he jumped on her first but in a birds and bees way, not attacking anymore =) Balance is restored at last!

But it still burns me up when people let their "precious sweet couldn't-hurt-a-fly doggies" run without a leash!

P.S. in the meantime I set up live traps and caught a possum (I SSSed him) and a few days later I caught a DOG! I have no idea how it managed get inside a coon trap AND have enough room for the door to close on her but it did! It even had a friend sitting outside the cage waiting on her to get out! Of course they didn't have collars to identify them, but they were caught in a trap set right next to my chicken coop, and the bait wasn't anything spectacular that would have drawn them in, so they were there for my chickens and got caught in the act, so off to the pound they went.