hen is limping. chased by dog yesterday. no visible injury. UPDATE

[elabraleon]

I'm so worried about my girl!!!!
She was chased by a dog yesterday and had a mouthful of feathers pulled out, but no cuts or anything.
I put her in her coop and at first she seemed normal.
But then I noticed her limping.
She puts some weight on her foot but hops rather than walking normally.
I can't find any cuts.
She seems to be sore where the joint of the leg is (elbow area?)
Foot looks normal
Today she is limping worse than yesterday
Please help.

 

[elabraleon]

Someone, Anyone???!!!

 

[rancher hicks]

check for broken bones. None ? Then perhaps it's just a strain.

Put her in a pen to keep her calm and give her food and water. Let her rest away from the other flock and keep her as immobile as possible. A couple of days should do it.

Then go and shoot the dog.

Rancher

 

[elabraleon]

I'm not sure how to check for broken bones. I did examine the leg and feel it, extend it, etc. Seems to function normally and I don't feel any obvious breaks, but she does a soft, nervous bok and trembles a little when I put pressure on the leg joint (elbowish area, where the feathering starts).
My husband wont let me bring her in the house.
and he doesn't want her in the garage (we just moved the babies out and he wants his room back)

She's in the coop, but Im worried that she'll get hurt worse trying to go down the ramp.
But I cant close the hatch, as the other hens need to be able to get in to lay.

I may just sneak her into the garage anyway. She's my sweetest girl and I really want her to get better.

 

[TeamChaos]

Is she a heavy breed? I noticed last spring when there was a lot of running on the farm (young roosters chasing each other/ young roosters chasing hens) that it was fairly common for one of the runners to be "gimped up" for a day or two. It's possible that in her attempt to avoid becoming lunch she simply strained her leg. I'm glad she made it! I'd check her range of motion tonight and see if it's tight like a sprain or loose like a slip/ fracture.
Best of luck to you and your chicken!

 

[elabraleon]

Then go and shoot the dog.

He's my sisters dog here on a visit, leaving tomorrow. Otherwise I just might.​

 

[elabraleon]

Quote:
She's a buff orpington, 7 months old. Seems lighter than average... I think. My barred rock, for example is much beefier than she is.

I think the only reason she made it is that she had a stroke of luck and actually ran inside the house when she was being chased.
The slider was opened my my 5 year old, the dog got out with me and my sister on his heels he managed to outrun us , but the hen ran through the open door and into the house. It was quite a shock to the folks sitting in the livingroom to see a flapping hen with a dobie on her heels running through the house...
My sister grabbed the dog and I grabbed the hen, just after the dog had gotten a mouthful of feathers.
Poor Christina.

 

[dawg53]

I agree that she needs to be isolated with plenty of rest and relaxation giving time for the alledged sprain to heal. Provide her feed and water as rancher hicks stated. You can buy vitamin B Complex tablets at a drug store, crush a couple of them into powder and sprinkle the powder into her feed. It might help in her recovery.
I had a Black Star that severely sprained her leg, I believe the vitamin B complex helped get her back up walking again...albeit she hobbled around on her good leg...she was still able to forage, eat and drink normally. I had to keep her seperate from the others though...they wanted to fight her all the time...survival of the fittest thing. This might happen with yours as well.

 

[rancher hicks]

If you squeeze around on her joints and she doesn't flinch like you would then I think it's just a bruise and I would do as I suggested and give her a few days of rest by immobileliseing her and she should be fine.

 

[elabraleon]

She was on the nest for a long time this morning, and I'm not sure whether she ever laid or not.
We got 3 eggs the last 2 or 3 days from our 4 hens. Normally we get 3, then 4, then 3 then 4...
Could she be egg bound? What are the symptoms of egg bound?
She has a little poo stuck on the feathers behind her vent, but otherwise looks normal.
Still limping bad.
Won't come down the ramp on her own. (I'm considering this a good thing)