Hobbling Pullet, out all night

[ShaneandAsh]

Last night one of our 3 month old pullets didn’t return to the coop, they usually all come back a good hour before they turn in and hang around the coop area so we knew something was up when only three of the pullets were there. We searched for her all over but there was no sign and sadly we had to lock up her coop without her. We hoped that something may have just spooked her and she went into hiding.

This morning we got up early to have a look again and nearly instantly found her sitting on the ground along the fence. We went over but she didn’t move, I thought her foot might have been stuck in the fence but when I went to investigate one of her feet just seemed to be folded back. I lifted her up and brought her back to the coop area. We offered her some food and water, she ate loads but didn’t seem too interested in the water. After eating she hobbled around her coop not seeming to want to put much weight on her left leg.

When we let the other 3 pullets out she did seem to perk up a little and ran/hobbled over to the plate to eat with the others.

She’s hobbling around a bit with the others but seems to need to sit down for long periods. The other three are sitting with her, which is very unusual as they usually like to travel as far as possible around the place in the day.

We also have eight fully grown chickens in a separate coop which we don’t want to let out just yet as she’d be a sitting target if they decide to start pecking her.

Her leg looks visibly fine but I’m not sure what to do. Should I put her in the coop to stop her moving too much on the leg? It looks like it's going to be a wet and blowy day today too.

I'm not sure if something attacked her or she simply landed badly on her leg but it must have been the reason she didn't return to the coop last night.

Advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ShaneandAsh]

Just a quick update.

"Mummy's Boy" (the pullet in question) seems to be doing a lot better. She is still limping and seems reluctant to put pressure on the back of her left foot but she's moving quicker and can fully bend her sore leg when walking.

We've just fed all our hens some corn and she was even pecking her two siblings when eating. The leg is definitely sore but at this stage I think she definitely seems mobile enough to free range and more so if she wants to.

The only thing I'm a little concerned about is that if the leg is injured should we keep her cooped up to allow it to recover or is it still ok to let her out and about?

I'd love to know what happened to her; I don't think she was attacked as it's just the leg she has an issue with so I suspect she might have had an awkward landing or something like that. I'm much more hopeful she'll make a full recovery now though.

Reading up a bit I've heard a vitamin b complex crushed up in their water can aid recovery. I presume this is just any vitamin b complex but again if anyone can advise it would be great.

Thanks!