Impaled chicken

[photo chick]

Yesterday afternoon I went to check on my animals and saw that one of my hens had impaled her wing on a hook that we use to hang water buckets. The hook is about 18 inches from the ground so she was able to stand but her wing was out stretched- stuck on this hook. It took quite some time and effort to release her from the hook. After looking at some chicken wing anatomy, it looks like the hook may have gone through or close to her ulna.
After I freed her I saw that her wing did not close near her body and was hanging down slightly. I was hoping that she was just stiff. But 24 hours has passed and it is the same. She cannot fly to her roost. All the hens roost in the rafters 10 ft high. She even has trouble with her balance as she hops around. She did a couple of graceful face plants today because the wing seems to be useless. She is eating, drinking and otherwise doing fine.
What can I do to help her? Will this heal? Do I take her to a vet? My husband thinks I'm being ridiculous...but she won't be safe in our barn if she can't roost.
Any suggestions?

 

[so lucky]

She may have flopped around for quite a while before you found her. Possibly the wing is sprained or ligaments torn. Can you put her somewhere else at night to sleep for a while? Like in a dog carrier? It may take a while to get over it.

 

[photo chick]

Yes, I could do. So you don't think that the injury could be permanent? I'm not sure what actually takes to break a wing.

 

[realsis]

Hi I think you need to give the injury some time to heal before you can acess if it caused any permanate damage.its likely going to be very sore for awhile and she won't be using that wing until the soreness goes away. You can offer her some supportive care maybe bring her inside to sleep and check the area. You can also give her a LOW dose CHILDRENS asprin like bayer for children which may help with the inflammation. Make sure its bayer children's asprin because bayer is a better asprin to give to chickens. It has to be the childrens asprin though. Its a low enough dose. After some time you will better be able to access if it has permanent damage or not. This type of injury can take some time to heal. I would bring her in and offer her some supportive care for a few days. I hope this helps and wish you the best.

 

[BantamLover21]

She probably sprained the wing, or may have cracked/broken a bone. Whatever happened, she should recover in time; chickens are great at healing from injuries as long as the injury doesn't re-occur. If I were you, I would isolate her from the other birds, in a warm, clean place, for a few days so that she can rest and build up some strength. Make sure she is eating and drinking fine and watch for infection of the injured wing. If infection should begin, then an antibiotic like Penicillin or Tylan50 would be the preferred treatment. As Realsis mentioned, you can also give her some children's aspirin for the pain and inflammation. Good luck with her!

 

[Nambroth]

You may need to keep her in a safe location for some time. If she is holding her wing strangely, you can palpate for breaks. If there is a break, her best option is a vet but I understand that not everyone can do this. If you wish to treat her at home, I recommend trying to wrap her wing for at least a week, possibly longer, depending on what was injured.

Here is a video.. it is for parrots, mostly, but it shows a goose. Your chicken has very similar anatomy, just shorter wings.

http://www.lafebervet.com/emergency-medicine/birds/how-to-guide-wing-wrap-placement-in-birds/

 

[photo chick]

Thanks so much everyone. She is doing SO much better. The wing doesn't seem to be broken but perhaps a strained ligament. After a few days of wrapping the wing doesn't seem to hang as low. She is not falling over anymore for lack of balance. She has been inside for about a week. But now I have a new problem... I'm having trouble re-introducing her to the flock.
I wrote a new thread here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/843876/re-introducing-injured-hen-to-flock#post_12508644

 

[photo chick]

It's a few months later and just wanted to update. We kept her inside for a few weeks - 3 I think. Once we introduced her back, the other chickens were aggressive with her. She still have limited movement due to her off balance. We removed her again during the day and added her in the evening and at night. Eventually she worked it out and is now part of the flock again. Her wing took about 2 months to heal. It now doesn't hang down lower than the other and she's able to get to her roost in the rafters of our barn which are 10 feet high. Thanks all for your help and support.