Hen with broken leg

[coachhaze]

Came home form work to find one of my sex-link girls in the road trying to stand. I went to pick her up and noticed the left leg appeared broken; she apparently hit by a car. I have a few birds that escape to run across the road to a neighbor's cow pasture. I was wondering about putting her down, but she appears to be quite feisty and when i placed her in a raised cage she did go to her food and started eating. I was shocked because i thought she would be very shocky and want nothing to eat. The break feels like it is at the joint where the leg and thigh are connected, but didn't feel any splintered bones. If i leave her in the cage and exercise the leg daily for a few minutes will she recover and how long will it take?? Or should I prepare to simply leave her in the cage fr othe rest of her life??

Any suggestions will be grateful.

 

[Chicky Mama]

Hard call.I had an EE that somehow did something to her leg.I thought it would get better,she was still eating and stuff.Though all she could do is sit there and watch everyone else in the main run be chickens from her lil pen.When she tried to walk her leg went straight out behind her so after about 5weeks of no improvment I thought it best to put her down instead of living like that if you call it living.It was more like a prisoner to her leg, poor girl.I hate when they get hurt & it's a judgement call on the quality of life for them.Though you mite find a Vet that can help if she's worth it to you. Good Luck.

 

[CMV]

If there is an obvious break splint it with vet wrap and popsicle sticks for a week or 2. Then remove the wrapping , check the leg by letting her walk a few steps and possibly re-splint it for another week or 2 if she's still limping heavily on it. Do not try to force the joint to bend because if the break is close enough to the joint it may fuse the joint, but that's okay just slightly awkward. Birds are very resilient and she will probably do just fine. I had a duck with a leg I thought was broken but I couldn't find any obvious breaks so I couldn't splint it. The duck seemed to know how to care for himself while he was recuperating. He rested for the most part with his leg stretched out in front of him. It took him 2 months to stop limping but he is fine now. He walks a little gimpily, but that's it. Broken legs are pretty easy to resolve even if there's a displaced fracture. Increase her calcium and protein intake while she heals to aid in the healing process. Good luck.

 

[janjan1]

I've had a couple chickens with a broken leg. I can only guess as to what happened but because I have horses I assume they got kicked or stepped on. But on both of them I used vet wrap to stabilize the break. One was at the joint, one was a broken thigh. By using the vet wrap, I didn't need to use a pop cicle stick. I did however clean the leg at the break, wrapped lightly with gauze, then applied the vet wrap, tight enough to keep immoble. I then placed chicken in a cage with water & feed. Kept them in cage for a few weeks just to make sure they had a quiet place to heal and they were in a small confined space to allow for some healing to take place without having to fight for food with their peers. Both are now out of the cages, roaming free with the other chickens. One has healed completely, only a slight limp. Her joint did very well. The other one that is broken at the thigh still has vet wrap on the break and is hobbling along without any problems. I will remove the vet wrap in a few more weeks but until then I keep an eye out for her.
jan

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Uh,,,, not a hen but my rooster booster got swapped with a stick by my DH ("dumas husband" at the moment

) I think his leg may be broken. How does one know without taking him to the vet? The Roo stretches his foot forward but will not put any weight on it and he lays down. In my mind, good indication that it may be broke. Vet wrap and popcicle sticks or just vet wrap? How does one know? I would like to try and save him but I don't want him miserable either. I guess it is a wait and see. He is isolated at the moment in a rabbit hutch and close to his ladies. He is eating and drinking too.