If she's inside already, there shouldn't be any problem with giving her an Epsom salt soak.
Please excuse me if you find this long winded... I have a big, oval bucket that I use for such things. If she's never had that particular spa treatment, she'll likely feel fine hanging out & curiously watching you prepare the area, pour in the Epsom salt & fill with warm water.
Personally, I always talk to my girls, tell them what I am doing, that it's going to be strange at first but that I am helping them & it will be ok. Call me crazy if ya want to, but I figure that a chicken uses 100% of their brain, so just because they can't talk in English doesn't mean that they don't understand what I say.
When I pick up the hen, I hold her firmly so that she doesn't flap around, freak out & hurt herself. I always make sure that the water is warm but not scalding, so there's that. I slowly put her into the bucket of water (partly to be sure that the temp is ok for her & partly because if she's never been to the Chicken Spa it can be an odd sensation.) Once she's ok & realizes that "Dude, I can relax & bob like a cork!", we're good! I always offer my hand in the water under her in case she feels more comfortable that way for a while. If her left leg is the problem, I offer from her right side & vice versa, as I want the injured leg to be the most relaxed. When the water cools or she looks to be over it for the moment, I pick her up, lift her out & onto a waiting towel, dump the bucket, rinse & repeat a couple of times (quickly so she doesn't catch a chill.)
I've had more than one bobbing hen fall asleep in her warm Epsom salt soak! I use a plain bucket of water for the last soak, kind of as a chicken rinse. I use another dry towel & several smaller (former kitchen dish towels) to absorb as much water as I can before I use my blow dryer on & the warm, low setting. I turn it on pointed away from her first, to get her familiar with the sound, tell her what it is & what we're doing & then work on getting my fluffy chicken back! It can take a while, since I make sure to hold it far enough away from her skin so as not to burn her.
Please excuse me if you find this long winded... I have a big, oval bucket that I use for such things. If she's never had that particular spa treatment, she'll likely feel fine hanging out & curiously watching you prepare the area, pour in the Epsom salt & fill with warm water.
Personally, I always talk to my girls, tell them what I am doing, that it's going to be strange at first but that I am helping them & it will be ok. Call me crazy if ya want to, but I figure that a chicken uses 100% of their brain, so just because they can't talk in English doesn't mean that they don't understand what I say.
When I pick up the hen, I hold her firmly so that she doesn't flap around, freak out & hurt herself. I always make sure that the water is warm but not scalding, so there's that. I slowly put her into the bucket of water (partly to be sure that the temp is ok for her & partly because if she's never been to the Chicken Spa it can be an odd sensation.) Once she's ok & realizes that "Dude, I can relax & bob like a cork!", we're good! I always offer my hand in the water under her in case she feels more comfortable that way for a while. If her left leg is the problem, I offer from her right side & vice versa, as I want the injured leg to be the most relaxed. When the water cools or she looks to be over it for the moment, I pick her up, lift her out & onto a waiting towel, dump the bucket, rinse & repeat a couple of times (quickly so she doesn't catch a chill.)
I've had more than one bobbing hen fall asleep in her warm Epsom salt soak! I use a plain bucket of water for the last soak, kind of as a chicken rinse. I use another dry towel & several smaller (former kitchen dish towels) to absorb as much water as I can before I use my blow dryer on & the warm, low setting. I turn it on pointed away from her first, to get her familiar with the sound, tell her what it is & what we're doing & then work on getting my fluffy chicken back! It can take a while, since I make sure to hold it far enough away from her skin so as not to burn her.
