How Long to heal from a leg injury?

[clamccauley]

I have a 10 week old Rhode Island Red that was injured coming out of the coop one morning.

(When she was about 4 weeks old, she started limping around like her leg was hurt. I kept her separate and in a smaller space for 1 week. She seemed OK after 3-4 days, but I wanted to make sure before putting her back with the other chicks. I'm not sure what caused the injury)

She was on a lower perch than the older hens. She came out a minute or two after I opened the door and at that exact moment, an older hen was flying down from a higher perch. They collided on the grass and my younger one rolled. She started crying and hobbled off. I checked her out and everything LOOKS Ok, but she would not put any weight on one leg. Just lets it hang like a noodle. 5 days later and she will put just a little bit of weight on it. Enough to stand, stretch and get a bite to eat. It will start quivering and she'll sit back down. No signs of bruising. When I hold her and rub on it a little she does not act like it hurts. Sometimes, it will put her to sleep! She has room to get up and walk around if need be, but since she still hobbles round, I don't let her out with the others.

Is this a normal healing time frame? 5 days and still no signs of improvement after the 1st day. Should I help her put a little weight on it to build strength or anything like that? It may be linked to her injury as a month old. She eats/drinks and stands and is very alert. Just sits around all day watching the other chicks. ant to make sure we're on the right track with helping her mend up!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Can you share a picture on how she's sitting? Sometimes Mareks can show up at that age.

Otherwise leg strains and sprains can take weeks and even months to fully heal. You should see improvements by a weeks time. Keeping her confined but within sight of the rest will keep her from injuring it more.

 

[cholland]

I had to keep one of mine separated for 3 weeks last year. Leg spains can take a bit to heal.

 

[clamccauley]

Can you share a picture on how she's sitting? Sometimes Mareks can show up at that age.

I looked up Mareks and she's definitely not sitting like that. I have never heard of that. That's a terrible disease!! When I went to take a photo she actually stood up and walked/hopped around a bit. When she sits, she just squats straight down like normal. She seems to be trying to get around more, just tires easy. She's in a small run where she can see everything around her. In the heat of the day, the other chicks her age will come sit against the pen by her so she's not completely isolated. Thank you, though!! I wanted to make sure she was on the right track!

 

[clamccauley]

I had to keep one of mine separated for 3 weeks last year. Leg spains can take a bit to heal.

Thank you!! That's good to know! She's at the age that she's wanting to go up in the coop to roost, and with a hurt leg, she's going to have to wait a while. Just wanted to make sure I was helping and not prolonging any healing.

 

[cholland]

I put her in a chicken tractor next to the run. She never would go up into the roost at night. Just nested up in the corner on the ground. She quit laying after two days and didn't start again for months.
I separated her because all the others were pecking her. She was the escape artist and probably injured her leg trying to fly out of the yard. I never found any obvious injury.
She didn't like being separate but she limped pretty bad for a while. She would pace back and forth against the side next to the run. Otherwise she was eating well and looking good.
After three weeks transitioning her back in with the flock didn't go easy either. I tried putting her in one afternoon and they all ganged up on her. So I got up early next day and turned her out when the coop door opened. There were some scuffles but she held her own, eventually working her way back to the normal order of things.
If I watch close she still has a slight limp.

Good luck to you.

 

[clamccauley]

I put her in a chicken tractor next to the run. She never would go up into the roost at night. Just nested up in the corner on the ground. She quit laying after two days and didn't start again for months.
I separated her because all the others were pecking her. She was the escape artist and probably injured her leg trying to fly out of the yard. I never found any obvious injury.
She didn't like being separate but she limped pretty bad for a while. She would pace back and forth against the side next to the run. Otherwise she was eating well and looking good.
After three weeks transitioning her back in with the flock didn't go easy either. I tried putting her in one afternoon and they all ganged up on her. So I got up early next day and turned her out when the coop door opened. There were some scuffles but she held her own, eventually working her way back to the normal order of things.
If I watch close she still has a slight limp.

Good luck to you.

Thank you!! I think the hardest part is trying to keep her socialized with the rest of the chicks her age. Chickens can be so mean! The ones her age are still buds so far. They hang out nearby and I put them with her in the mornings and evenings for 30 minutes or so. My older hens are the hardest part. If they saw her by herself they'd jump on her.