Hi guys! A little bit less than a week ago, I posted a description and picture of a hen who just could but get up onto her feet. Everyone who replied said it was Mareks Disease. Well, I took Ms.Chicky to the vet and they did a quick scan of her body and it turns out she had a broken leg the whole time! I don't know how it could have happened since there aren't any extremely high places for her to jump from, or anything weird for her to somehow snag her leg on if she was running. I just want to know... Do you guys think she'll be able to walk again? She stood for the first time in a LONG time yesterday, but the image the vet gave me looked pretty ugly. Here it is: Does this look like it could heal? We were given some anti-inflammatory meds to give to her by mouth once a day, and since we started it she's been standing up, but not walking... What do you guys think??
I have a hen named PJ's that had a really nasty broken leg (I dont have xrays but you could feel it and it was bad, above and below the hock, her "knee" was shattered, you can feel the pieces floating around), she got stepped on by a cow. She is now in her own pen with another hen that had a leg problem. She cannot move her toes or foot or anything below the hock and has a big ugly knot where it healed, but amazingly she does a fantastic job getting around on one leg. I was worried she could never walk again, but chickens are resilient creatures. She now lives in an old rabbit hutch in my back yard and I made her a "handicapped ramp" to get in and out and she has mastered it like a pro. She spent several weeks sleeping in a box next to my bed (in a sling at first, then just the box itself with some fluffy bedding) and has turned into a huge pet. I go out everyday and pick her up and scratch her head because she cant really scratch it on her own. Here she is in her sling I made for her. She stayed in it for a week or so. Here is her handicapped ramp, i covered it with my old rug because I didnt want her to get her non-working foot hung up in the wire. She always stands on her one leg. I used vet wrap to make her a "cast" to support her break for a few weeks. She uses her leg a little to scratch the ground and for support sometimes. Here is her ramp and the hutch. Kinda in the process of putting things together so its a little ugly in this pic. Also they share this pen with a bunny and he uses their ramp as a "cave" Here she is enjoying some kale with Waffles the bun in the background! I would say give your girl some TLC and a month or two and she will be getting around. Maybe not good as new, but she will make the best of what she has been dealt. I personally would not return her to the flock where she could injure herself again or be injured by others, at least not for a while. PJ's will never return to the flock since they free range and I do not want the rooster trying to mount her, I dont think her leg needs that stress. She will live with Waffles and Lucysaurus Rex (my RIR with leg problem) in this pen. Your girls break looks pretty bad, but I think she will survive and can still lead a happy healthy life, especially with some TLC!
What kind of life quality,you think, she will have with this kind of broken limb? In this situation she will need to go a massive surgery, with metal nails to reaper the the tie bone, with a very high risk of infection and very high veterinarian bill! If you wont do this procedure she will certainly have an infection because of the broken bone, will suffer and almost most certainly die! Sorry but this is a dire situation! Good luck!
