Injured leg what do I do?

[thatchicknelly]

One of my chicks seems to be injured on one of her legs. She limps and when she lays down she lays kind of sideways as if to not put weight on that side of the leg. I have no idea how that happened, should I be worried I’m lost as to the next steps to take. I don’t see any obvious injuries or swelling I stretched her leg she doesn’t flinch or react much. What should I do or should I leave her be? I do try to clean off their feet from poop once a day.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

How long has this been going on for? Has it been since you got her? Do you know if she can put any weight on her leg at all? What is her brooder like, like does it have shavings, straw, or newspaper for bedding? Do you have anything she can jump up on or anything she could get her foot stuck on (like hairs, strings, wires, etc)?
Gently run a finger and thumb along her leg starting at her thigh and ending at her foot. Do the same to her other leg to note any differences. Do you feel any swelling, specifically around her joints? Completely clean her foot and try to keep it clean at all times. (You can use a warm damp cloth to clean her foot from anything that might be caked on.) Examine her foot and toes carefully and check for any swelling. (Also, if possible, can you provide a close up picture of her leg and foot?)

If possible, it would be ideal to keep her off her feet for a few days. Using a *chicken chair would be best. For a simple leg injury, it should start to improve after three days and being close to full improvment at two weeks if it's not fully improved.
If you can't get her in a chicken chair, keep her in a space where the surface is completely flat so she can't trip over anything (so no shavings or straw) and where there is nothing that she can jump up onto. Try to keep her area as clean as possible and keep her feet clean as dirty feet (even when cleaned once a day) isn't healthy and can be part of the problem.

*Links to possible chicken chairs that you can create:

Post in thread 'Versions of "chick chairs" PLEASE!' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/post-18356950

Post in thread '20-month Silkie can't walk, one leg seems fine' https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...walk-one-leg-seems-fine.1603148/post-27282099

 

[thatchicknelly]

How long has this been going on for? Has it been since you got her? Do you know if she can put any weight on her leg at all? What is her brooder like, like does it have shavings, straw, or newspaper for bedding? Do you have anything she can jump up on or anything she could get her foot stuck on (like hairs, strings, wires, etc)?
Gently run a finger and thumb along her leg starting at her thigh and ending at her foot. Do the same to her other leg to note any differences. Do you feel any swelling, specifically around her joints? Completely clean her foot and try to keep it clean at all times. (You can use a warm damp cloth to clean her foot from anything that might be caked on.) Examine her foot and toes carefully and check for any swelling. (Also, if possible, can you provide a close up picture of her leg and foot?)

If possible, it would be ideal to keep her off her feet for a few days. Using a *chicken chair would be best. For a simple leg injury, it should start to improve after three days and being close to full improvment at two weeks if it's not fully improved.
If you can't get her in a chicken chair, keep her in a space where the surface is completely flat so she can't trip over anything (so no shavings or straw) and where there is nothing that she can jump up onto. Try to keep her area as clean as possible and keep her feet clean as dirty feet (even when cleaned once a day) isn't healthy and can be part of the problem.

*Links to possible chicken chairs that you can create:

Post in thread 'Versions of "chick chairs" PLEASE!' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/post-18356950

Post in thread '20-month Silkie can't walk, one leg seems fine' https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...walk-one-leg-seems-fine.1603148/post-27282099

So that’s what their brooder setup looks like rn(just cleaned). I don’t use shavings at the moment. I noticed her limping last night and hoped it’d be better today but it seems the same. When I hold her she just cuddles and seems very tired/sleepy in my hands. Her leg seems shaky also is what I noticed. I ran my fingers on both sides, slowly and gently stretched both her legs they seem okay. I did see a little redness and a bit of swelling on her leg(in pics) upon cleaning some poop stuck on her chest and feet. Maybe it’s that, she does move it and uses it but barely. I will look to buy her a chicken chair asap for her to be comfortable with.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

So that’s what their brooder setup looks like rn(just cleaned). I don’t use shavings at the moment. I noticed her limping last night and hoped it’d be better today but it seems the same. When I hold her she just cuddles and seems very tired/sleepy in my hands. Her leg seems shaky also is what I noticed. I ran my fingers on both sides, slowly and gently stretched both her legs they seem okay. I did see a little redness and a bit of swelling on her leg(in pics) upon cleaning some poop stuck on her chest and feet. Maybe it’s that, she does move it and uses it but barely. I will look to buy her a chicken chair asap for her to be comfortable with.

Thank you for taking the time to get these pictures. Your brooder setup looks good and the pads are good as a flat surface as well. She probably can get up on the heat plate, which is where you'll have to worry about her jumping down from. I see what you mean about the red on her leg and I'd keep an eye on it. It's around that joint (her knee), which was where I was concerned about. Try to keep her calm and from flying or anything like that until you can get her in a chair. Hopefully it will start healing in the next few days. Please keep us updated on how she does.

 

[thatchicknelly]

Thank you for taking the time to get these pictures. Your brooder setup looks good and the pads are good as a flat surface as well. She probably can get up on the heat plate, which is where you'll have to worry about her jumping down from. I see what you mean about the red on her leg and I'd keep an eye on it. It's around that joint (her knee), which was where I was concerned about. Try to keep her calm and from flying or anything like that until you can get her in a chair. Hopefully it will start healing in the next few days. Please keep us updated on how she does.

I tried to make her like a sling chair to sit in but she didn’t last very long before she jumped out. If I manage to keep her in there to rest how long at a time should I leave her there?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I tried to make her like a sling chair to sit in but she didn’t last very long before she jumped out. If I manage to keep her in there to rest how long at a time should I leave her there?

That's something I was afraid of. Most chickens probably wouldn't want to cooperate with that, that's why I had said, if possible. If she fights it too much, it could end up causing more harm than good.
If you can get her into it comfortably, let her out occasionally for a few minutes at a time to see if she's improving at all and to keep her muscles strong in her other leg. Depending on her improvement, I would try three days, but if she doesn't seem to be improving, I wouldn't keep her in there longer than two weeks. Because she's a growing chick, you'll have to ensure nothing is getting too tight for her or that she doesn't outgrow it.

 

[thatchicknelly]

That's something I was afraid of. Most chickens probably wouldn't want to cooperate with that, that's why I had said, if possible. If she fights it too much, it could end up causing more harm than good.
If you can get her into it comfortably, let her out occasionally for a few minutes at a time to see if she's improving at all and to keep her muscles strong in her other leg. Depending on her improvement, I would try three days, but if she doesn't seem to be improving, I wouldn't keep her in there longer than two weeks. Because she's a growing chick, you'll have to ensure nothing is getting too tight for her or that she doesn't outgrow it.

Yeah she doesn’t like it at all. I’ve just been holding her in my hand letting her rest for a few minutes before putting her back in her coop to eat and drink water. She seems to like resting in my hands doesn’t fight me on it.