Sure you can. Fix your epsom salt up in a 5 gal. Bucket, wrap a towel around her to secure her wings and cover her eyes,then gently set her in the soak. Have your water comfortably warm but not too much so, or she'll get too hot.My first injury. Coral blue pied hen with injured leg or toe after a misadventure on the coop roof and she crash landed. Now in a 36” dog crate with a companion inside the coop.
I’m thinking crate rest for 10-14 days but my crate may be too large and allow too much mobility. Hard to balance mental health and physical health.
I haven’t examined anything. I just noticed her limping the day after the misadventure so I caught her off the roost this morning and crated her.
My birds are not like @Sydney65 . There will be no calm epsom soaks or gentle splinting. But I’ll do what I can if it’s for the bird’s best interest.
So what I should be doing?
That'll give you a chance to examine her feet, too, while she's wrapped up.
The guy who started BYC wrote Chicken Health for Dummies. So I'm just going to go down his list w/you:
Is she bearing some weight on it? Then a break or tendon rupture unlikely.
Check for Bumblefoot.
Check legs & thighs for puncture wounds,cuts, bruising.
the skin of the leg and thigh.
Have someone help you by holding the bird facing you.Gently pull on both feet to extend legs & compare side by side.They should be symmetrical. If you see a difference- a swollen hock joint or toe maybe viral or bacterial.
A swollen joint may be the result of a viral or bacterial infection. A leg oddly positioned may have suffered a tendon injury or broken bone.
I'll skip the Marek's part,since you know what happened-& I'm curious to see the reaction from this next part, bc certainly no one has suggested it since I've been around. On second thought, @R2elk said not to assume chickens & goons are the same, so mb wait for confirmation on the second part.
"1. Isolate the bird in a small area, so she doesn’t need to move much, and won’t get picked on. Don’t provide a perch until she’s improved. See our nursing care suggestions in Chapter 17. (I can give ya that)
2. Ahem...Give aspirin in the drinking water for two to three days. See the appendix for dose and mixing instructions." Third part is antibiotics, lets not get to the point you need those.
You said 36" crate, you could use zip ties and cardboard to 1/2 the size if needed.
Flush any wounds w/antiseptic to remove debris and then 1x daily x3-x5 a day. "antibiotic ointment to chicken wounds is doubtful, so we don’t recommend it. A bird’s own preen gland oil has antibacterial properties and skin conditioners that are just right for bird skin,"
Isolate in warm, clean, dry area away from pets. More than a month old, 80-85° is preferred. He says if she needs encouragement to eat to leave the light on 24/7, use Vitamins and Minerals in water.
Authors, Julie Gauther-DVM,MPH,Dipl ACVPM and Rob Ludlow