I think my rooster broke his leg!!!

[Pastel the Rooster]

Pick him up and fully inspect the leg. I've had to set legs and splint up and it's not fun. It takes two people. Ensure it's not dislocated. If it's just bruised or sprained you should consider caging him. Get him out of the flock and confined to a cage. He will rest then and give it a chance to heal. In the flock dynamic birds don't show weakness and when the others see it will bully them. If you take it out of the flock it doesn't attempt to put on a tough face and can relax to recoup.

Now that it's dark it's a good time to go get to inspect and apply aid if needed. At least get him in a cage when it's easy to capture capture him at night.

This is good advice. I twice this! I would do what Egghead_Jr said!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you checked the bottom of his foot for signs of bumblefoot or a scab? Look over his leg this evening for any swelling of the leg, joints or ankle, or any green bruising or redness. How long has he been limping? Has he been jumping up and down from a roost? Depending on what part of his leg is affected, you might be able to splint a fracture, or wrap a sprain for support. Resting the leg while confined to a dog crate with food and water might be helpful for a few days.

 

[RoyalChick]

Pick him up and fully inspect the leg. I've had to set legs and splint up and it's not fun. It takes two people. Ensure it's not dislocated. If it's just bruised or sprained you should consider caging him. Get him out of the flock and confined to a cage. He will rest then and give it a chance to heal. In the flock dynamic birds don't show weakness and when the others see it will bully them. If you take it out of the flock it doesn't attempt to put on a tough face and can relax to recoup.

Now that it's dark it's a good time to go get to inspect and apply aid if needed. At least get him in a cage when it's easy to capture capture him at night.

Good thinking to examine him now in the dark. If it is really broken and dislocated you should be able to feel that as you examine his leg. Good to wrap him up in a towel as that will be painful.
Also examine the foot for bumblefoot and compare both legs to assess if it is swollen.
If you can take him to a vet that would be ideal, but I know many of us have to muddle through without a vet who will see birds.

 

[azygous]

Look very carefully under the feathers on his upper leg where the scales stop, the spot that would be our knee. This spot often gets injured when a heavy rooster tried to hop onto a perch. This happened to both my roos before I discovered they were injuring themselves and I lowered the perch within a few inches of the floor.

If there is no sign of injury, it may be a vitamin B deficiency. I
ve had good luck treating with B-complex, and if this is his issue, it will resolve within a month or two on the B-complex. Get it anywhere you buy people vitamins and give him a tablet a day by mouth.

 

[RoyalChick]

I am tagging @bgmathteach who has experience in healing broken limbs if that is what it turns out to be.

 

[bgmathteach]

I concur with most of what has been posted already: check him out thoroughly tonight, see if it is broken, dislocated, or just swollen/injured.

Regardless of which it is, it seems he is in pain. You can give him ibuprofin this is a link to some pain management links (thanks again, @RoyalChick !)

Also, whether it is broken or just injured, you want him off of it if possible. You can create a sling with an old towel, a plastic box/crate, and a few strong clips. Make sure the box is long enough, and deep enough. Cut two slits for his legs (approximately the width apart his are!) You will then put feet through slits, drape edges of towel over sides of box, and clip towel to box to support him. He probably will not want to stay...... if this is the case, and he struggles to free himself, then you will need to burrito him with the towel ( or a second towel, again with slits cut for legs) With this set up, if you place him correctly, you can hook cups on the plastic bin for food and water. (note, the burrito doesn't have to be tight - just secure enough to keep him from using his wings to launch him out of crate)

Sorry, I don't have a picture of when I did this for my little hen that broke her leg, but I did have to burrito her...and it worked wonderfully. Note that this sling allows the leg to hang naturally, and allows him to still move the leg/foot, but without putting weight on it. The height should be so that with his good leg, he can stand and his body weight can just come off the sling - so, not too high his good foot can't reach the floor, and not so low that his bad leg has to be scrunched/significantly bent to not have weight on it.

If it isn't broken, and seems to be doing better in a few days...then I would crate him - probably with a friend until he is healed enough to get around fine.

If it is broken, it is important to immobilize the broken area with a splint - being sure bone is correctly set - or as much as possible, and do the same sling thing. Stay in splint and sling until bone is knit (10 days to 2 weeks - you should check it), and then keep him quiet for another week, but not in sling, so bone is fully healed before he goes out to be in charge of ladies.

Note: I have found that chickens can get depressed being isolated. With the broken bone, you would have to be very careful that it doesn't get bumped/jarred, etc until it knits. Otherwise, I would suggest having a friend in - even if only for a while every day - to keep him company. Given he is a fairly young roo, I would suggest an older, calm hen, and not first thing in the morning when hormones are the highest!.

Please give us an update either later tonight or tomorrow - after you have given him a once-over to determine what is wrong.

 

[Chicken love to infinity]

Thank you guys so much! I will try everything! He doesn't have bumble foot and there's no scab or wound. I will put him in a crate tomorrow and wrap his leg. You guys have been so helpful! I noticed it yesterday, but thought it was nothing until he couldn't get upstairs. I will keep you guys updated.

 

[Chicken love to infinity]

Thank you guys so much! I will try everything! He doesn't have bumble foot and there's no scab or wound. I will put him in a crate tomorrow and wrap his leg. You guys have been so helpful! I noticed it yesterday, but thought it was nothing until he couldn't get upstairs. I will keep you guys updated.

I concur with most of what has been posted already: check him out thoroughly tonight, see if it is broken, dislocated, or just swollen/injured.

Regardless of which it is, it seems he is in pain. You can give him ibuprofin this is a link to some pain management links (thanks again, @RoyalChick !)

Also, whether it is broken or just injured, you want him off of it if possible. You can create a sling with an old towel, a plastic box/crate, and a few strong clips. Make sure the box is long enough, and deep enough. Cut two slits for his legs (approximately the width apart his are!) You will then put feet through slits, drape edges of towel over sides of box, and clip towel to box to support him. He probably will not want to stay...... if this is the case, and he struggles to free himself, then you will need to burrito him with the towel ( or a second towel, again with slits cut for legs) With this set up, if you place him correctly, you can hook cups on the plastic bin for food and water. (note, the burrito doesn't have to be tight - just secure enough to keep him from using his wings to launch him out of crate)

Sorry, I don't have a picture of when I did this for my little hen that broke her leg, but I did have to burrito her...and it worked wonderfully. Note that this sling allows the leg to hang naturally, and allows him to still move the leg/foot, but without putting weight on it. The height should be so that with his good leg, he can stand and his body weight can just come off the sling - so, not too high his good foot can't reach the floor, and not so low that his bad leg has to be scrunched/significantly bent to not have weight on it.

If it isn't broken, and seems to be doing better in a few days...then I would crate him - probably with a friend until he is healed enough to get around fine.

If it is broken, it is important to immobilize the broken area with a splint - being sure bone is correctly set - or as much as possible, and do the same sling thing. Stay in splint and sling until bone is knit (10 days to 2 weeks - you should check it), and then keep him quiet for another week, but not in sling, so bone is fully healed before he goes out to be in charge of ladies.

Note: I have found that chickens can get depressed being isolated. With the broken bone, you would have to be very careful that it doesn't get bumped/jarred, etc until it knits. Otherwise, I would suggest having a friend in - even if only for a while every day - to keep him company. Given he is a fairly young roo, I would suggest an older, calm hen, and not first thing in the morning when hormones are the highest!.

Please give us an update either later tonight or tomorrow - after you have given him a once-over to determine what is wrong.

Now I'm pretty sure he may have sprained it, he can put light pressure on it but only for a second. He is able to move around but I noticed he dragged his foot funny weird once. And more unusually- he only crowed 1 time this morning instead of his usual chorus. Thank you so much for the help!

 

[Chicken love to infinity]

oh

Look very carefully under the feathers on his upper leg where the scales stop, the spot that would be our knee. This spot often gets injured when a heavy rooster tried to hop onto a perch. This happened to both my roos before I discovered they were injuring themselves and I lowered the perch within a few inches of the floor.

If there is no sign of injury, it may be a vitamin B deficiency. I
ve had good luck treating with B-complex, and if this is his issue, it will resolve within a month or two on the B-complex. Get it anywhere you buy people vitamins and give him a tablet a day by mouth.

I don't believe its a vitamin B deficiency as I supplement with Nutritional yeast as recommended by our vet. It might be the roost but I'm not sure as Bard rarely jumps up on them anymore... Maybe he tried and fell or something?

Have you checked the bottom of his foot for signs of bumblefoot or a scab? Look over his leg this evening for any swelling of the leg, joints or ankle, or any green bruising or redness. How long has he been limping? Has he been jumping up and down from a roost? Depending on what part of his leg is affected, you might be able to splint a fracture, or wrap a sprain for support. Resting the leg while confined to a dog crate with food and water might be helpful for a few days.

No bumblefoot or scab. He's been limping since I checked on him around 1 o'clock on the 29th. I thought it was no big deal until I realized that night he couldn't get upstairs.. Bard rarely uses the tall roosts in the run, just the ones upstairs so I'm not so sure. I will try to wrap his foot tight but not too tight with some medical wrap. He's currently in a small crate.

Thank you so much for all the help guys!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know how he gets along.