Injured Leg (pics)

[chickschool]

No milk. The last thing you need is diarrhea. Chickens are lactose intolerant unless the milk source is heavily populated with bugs (yogurt, cheese and buttermilk).

You will want to give her a regular diet with high protein. Your best bet is to get some grower feed that is 20-22% protein. I would be adding some oyster shell to the feed. Better yet, you know the "flour" at the bottom of the bag of oyster shells? I would get as much as the flour as I could and mix that into her feed. She is going to need the calcium. Augment the main feed with BOSS, meal worms, yogurt, low-sodium catfood (in limited quantities because of the salt content), canned tuna (or just the water/oil mixed in with her feed) and bits of meat (unsalted, unprocessed) from your dinner table. Get some poultry vitamins to add to the water. There are several marketed at the local agriculture store. Just use them as directed. Don't get carried away with them or they will cause diarrhea. Basically, she needs to eat her feed as much as possible because she needs the balanced nutrition that it provides. The extra protein will help her to put on healthy weight instead of "fat" weight. She doesn't need to put on weight quickly so much as she needs to put on weight in a healthy manner.

I hope this helps. I am glad you brought her to a vet.

How much food and water should I expect her to consume in a day? Never having really monitored the daily intake of just one chicken I'm unsure. I see her eating and drinking and right now she's plowing through 4 cherry tomatoes (her favorite) and a plate of Harvest Delight(mix of whole grains, peanuts, carrots, tomatoes, raisins, flaxseed and sunflower seeds) which has 15% protein, 12% crude fat, and 0.25% calcium. I couldn't make it to the feed store to get the oyster shells today but will go first thing in the morning. I also have something called BabyCake from Farmer's Helper. It has 8.9% crude protein, 26.9% crude fat and 1.5% calcium. It just hangs near her and she can pick at it when ever she wants to. Oh, what about cottage cheese? I have her about a tablespoon last night, before reading your post, and she devoured it.

If Peanut butter actually survives all this I will be amazed. We have a standing 2 week camping trip every summer and guess who's coming along this year.

 

[Pyrates4Poultry]

haha oh dear, camping with a chicken... what fun. Sorry about the triple post! Thanks for the pics. I think the area where the three toes in front come together is where Magoo is having his issue. I got a pic for you. Pretty bright out there but hopefully you can see.

 

[CMV]

Remember that the best food she can eat is her own feed. All these treats are tempting to give her, but they are just that...treats. Her feed is the balanced nutrition she needs. Cottage cheese is fine in moderation. Fatty foods will be very tempting to her (and everyone else), but you don't want her to just get fat. You want her to put on lean muscle mass. That is the healthy way to gain weight.

Think of it like this- I eat a bag of chips and drink a liter of soda every day. I am going to put on weight doing that. Is it healthy weight, though? Probably not. Instead, I increase my portion sizes of lean meats, whole grains and fruits. I am still going to put on weight, but it is likely going to be muscle mass rather than just fat. If I increase my portion sizes too much it will eventually turn into fat, but as long as I am needing to acquire some added mass, the healthier food choices are a better alternative.

I hope she enjoys her vacation. Not too many chickens get out to see the world.

 

[bobj8435]

It,s great to see people that will treat their girls so well and take that extra time to doctor rather than put them down. My Rooster injured his leg some how and after two weeks of
medication and anti inflamatory cream he has returned to his rightful place. Although he limps around he manages to still act his part as the head guy. I have used his picture as my icon
and can hear him crowing now as I write this reply. It,s very enjoyable to have so many fine folks here to help us new folks. Thanks a bunch...

Bob

 

[annaewart]

My hen has exactly the same problem at the minute. I couln't figure what it was as she had no swelling, dis-coloration, she could still move her foot and was hopping around but without putting any weight onto it and wouldn't move far at all - I put that down to being dislocated, And put her inside, with her feed (But moved her onto chick crumb for protein) and water near to her - she wasnt moving far for the first couple of days and wouldnt put any weight onto it - she got scrambled egg, abit of milk and some cooked oatmeal every day a couple of times a day to keep energy and protein up, she is now alot more lively, got alot more colour round her comb, and is staring to put pressure and wander abit. Always really happy to see me and eating/drinking alot more. I still have her in and will have until im 110% sure shes healthy and comfortable enough to get around by herself. But I'm not gonna stress her out by taking her to vets unless i feel shes not getting any better, But I'm certain shes getting better everyday - my partner too!! Her leg is healing very quickly it seems - only been a week today too! - extremley happy with her progress, so if shes anything to go by I'd deffo give your chooky a chance . I do love my girl and her being PTS was a great huge NO!

All the best with your chooky - But I'd put it down to dislocation. Nothing the very best of care and alot of love from mum cant heal.

 

[CMV]

My hen has exactly the same problem at the minute. I couln't figure what it was as she had no swelling, dis-coloration, she could still move her foot and was hopping around but without putting any weight onto it and wouldn't move far at all - I put that down to being dislocated, And put her inside, with her feed (But moved her onto chick crumb for protein) and water near to her - she wasnt moving far for the first couple of days and wouldnt put any weight onto it - she got scrambled egg, abit of milk and some cooked oatmeal every day a couple of times a day to keep energy and protein up, she is now alot more lively, got alot more colour round her comb, and is staring to put pressure and wander abit. Always really happy to see me and eating/drinking alot more. I still have her in and will have until im 110% sure shes healthy and comfortable enough to get around by herself. But I'm not gonna stress her out by taking her to vets unless i feel shes not getting any better, But I'm certain shes getting better everyday - my partner too!! Her leg is healing very quickly it seems - only been a week today too! - extremley happy with her progress, so if shes anything to go by I'd deffo give your chooky a chance . I do love my girl and her being PTS was a great huge NO! All the best with your chooky - But I'd put it down to dislocation. Nothing the very best of care and alot of love from mum cant heal.

Wow....what?

The OP's bird has a fractured leg. Dislocations do not generally heal on their own. They result in an unstable limb that won't bear weight, causes excruciating pain and debilitation, and usually end in death from stress and/or starvation. A bird that has a dislocation needs to see a vet or be humanely put down.

 

[annaewart]

Maybe it aint dislocation then.. cos she can bare weight on it. and she's getting around alot easier now....
She's my chook - I know when she's well and unwell - she is well but not quite back to her normal self. She does deffo NOT need pts I know that much! She's eating, and drinking lots and seeming healthy enough in herself just a tad unstable, deffo not stressed out.

 

[chickschool]

I am happy to report that after only a week Peanut butter is beginning to move around a lot more.

She's not ready to run around the yard just yet but she is definitely on the mend. We leave on our camping trip in a few days (which I'm sure she's going to enjoy) and I'm hopeful that she will be ready to return to the flock upon our return.

 

[CMV]

Nice! She is healing quickly! My drake was out of commission for a solid month and more. I always thought chickens were tough, but that ducks made chickens look like wimps. I may need to reconsider that opinion. Maybe it's just that the girls are much tougher than the boys.

Enjoy your vacation.

 

[codechicken1]

Good to see!