Ok, I have a New Hampshire rooster that injured his leg some how at the end of winter/beginning of spring. He doesn't walk on it, he moves it like he's walking, but the only time he puts weight on it is when he's standing, even then he doesn't put much weight on it. I've left it alone thinking it might of gotten better, but it hasn't. He's thin and spooked easily now. He still has his friendly attitude. Before it happened, another rooster was fighting with him some. It might be dislocated, but I can't tell to well. Any ideas?
Welcome aboard. If it was a dislocation/break it has probably `healed' in the `improper' position/location and/or sterile abscess/inflammation at point/in area of what was the acute injury. Is he able to roost normally, or is he sleeping on the floor in a corner of the coop? Has he become increasingly less active, guarding the leg more, now? Or pretty much as he was just after you first noticed the limping/favoring of leg? Have you thoroughly examined him: discoloration of skin on thigh/flank, obvious swelling as compared to other leg, checked both feet - can he grasp finger equally with both, or is there a difference? Had there been any illness in the flock? Mycoplasma can `resolve' and leave chooks arthritic/gouty. How old is he? What are you feeding him? Since he is `thin', you should probably augment his diet (scrambled eggs/meal worms/etc. - separate feeding area from rest of flock). You can try aspirin (if something inflammatory is going on this can help). The suggested dose is 5mg/kg, three times a day. EX: 8lb roo. 8/2.2 = ~3.5kg, so 17.5mg. Crush an 81mg aspirin, divide into 4 `equal' piles ~20mg per pile. Daub up one pile with a half a grape and let him munch (adjust for your roo's wt. - some aspirin will be lost on the way in - spillage - so a little more is better than a little less). Another method is to dissolve 5, 325mg, aspirins in a gallon of water - dosage dependent on roo's water intake. Observe for increase in activity/scratching around/wt. bearing/eased gait. Is there still another roo around giving the injured fellow grief? If so, separate. Good luck to you and your roo!
Thanks, ok, he's around a year, sleeping on the floor (that I've noticed), and he has been less active and guarding that leg more. I haven't seen any discoloration or inflammatory. He can't grasp all that well with his injured leg. There hasn't been any illness, and I keep him locked up most of the time in my pigeon coop so the others don't bother him. (Due to prices), I feed him wild bird seed, like the rest, and let them out daily to scratch. I've thought about giving him some egg, I will. The reason I really can't tell if it's dislocated is because if it is, it's really slight. Thanks so much for the info!
I'd suggest putting him on a complete ration for chickens - an all purpose feed should work fine and perhaps a bit of cracked corn to add calories to his diet. I don't think wild bird seed supplies the proper nutrients for poultry. Karen
