Hen w/ broken leg. HELP PLEASE!

[oliviad51]

I have a hen that somehow got her leg hurt very bad. I think she may have got her leg stuck in the fence but Im not sure. She is hopping on one foot and won't put any weight on the other one. Yesterday I realized that the bone was sticking out of her leg. Then I wrapped it with a medical bandage. The bandage has been on her foot since yesterday. It is the knuckle above her foot that is bothering her. But I was wondering if there was anything else we should do. I really don't want her foot to get hurt even more. I also don't want to kill her. I want to help her. If there is ANYTHING you know to do, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help!!!!

 

[jenjscott]

I'm not sure what to do with that type of fracture, but i am sure she needs to be isolated in a small box or carrier with food and water within reach so she does not move around much. Perhaps someone else can help more.

 

[Chickengal505]

Splent it and put her in a doll walker, carrage ect so she can "walk" and not be bored with her life for the next months cause if she gets bored she'll hurt her self even more. pick a buddy to visit daly or weekly so she'll have somone to help defend herself when she gets kicked back into the flock Good luck Hugs and wishes...

 

[oliviad51]

Thanks guys. I actually did move her to a chicken run type coop with 2 other sweet hens. The 2 other hens live there because they get picked on by the other chickens. So the living environment for her right now is fine. Its more like a playhouse type thing with a big, roofed closed in area attached to it. She has plenty of water. In fact a few minutes ago I checked on her and she was putting a tiny bit of wieght on the hurt foot but still not much..If anyone else has advice please help! I wasnt sure if we should just keep the wrap on there and let time fix it or if we needed to do something else...I guess I will try the splint. Thanks again to those who replied to my post and If someone else has something else that they think would work, again- please help!

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

What you are dealing with is a compound fracture since the bone is sticking out. I just went through this with one of mine and it will take a long time to heal, if it ever does. The problem is that since it is compound, the wound will need to heal also and if you keep it wrapped up then that will not happen. In reality a vet would put pins in to hold the bone and let the wound heal, but if you do not want to take her to the vet you can at least try. What I did was put our hen in a dog cage in the house and wraped the leg, but not too tight. Once the leg was somewhat healed we then took care of the wound. She was put on PenG because she did get an infection. It took two months in the house and now she is with the other chickens, however, she limps, the foot is not dead, but she has no feeling in it, but does use it like a fake leg. In all honesty I would not do it again, I believe I would cull the next time. It takes a lot of work and care and working full time is very difficult. Every time she pooped we had to get it up because I was afraid of infection and also it smelled. My DH was home and could take care of her during the day. She seems happy enough and is laying again, but as I stated before it is not easy. I still have to treat the injury every once in a while because it is still scabbing and her leg was broken in January. That is all the advice I can offer, but I do wish you good luck................................