Leg injury advice needed!

[lalyswishytail]

I don't know what happened, but when I went to take care of my chickies today I noticed that Elke was limping. I don't see anything unusual, but then again, I don't know what to look for. When she walks, it looks like she avoiding using her full foot--like she is putting the weight on one side of the foot.

She is the lowest in the pecking order of five chickens and I don't know if she was attacked, or if she landed in a weird way after jumping form the roost, or what. I live about two miles from where my chickens live and decided to take Elke home. Right now she is in a dog cage where she can be kept quiet. I live near Chicago and the temperatue in the glass-door porch where I'm currently keeping her is probably just above freezing--not as cold as outside, but not an indoor temperature either. She'd be inside except our two dogs and four cats would probably stress her out too much. There are blankets covering almost all of the crate now, but I'll take them off once the sun comes out tomorrow.

My plan is to keep her at home for a few days in the hopes that the leg will heal itself on its own. Is there something else I should be doing? What if the leg doesn't heal?

 

[Renee]

It may just be sore.

You can give her liquid baby vitamins (no iron) three drops a day on her beak for a few days in case she has a vitamin deficiency. Sometimes that is the cause of leg problems.

 

[lalyswishytail]

I've never had to give medicine of any sort before to a chicken. When you say "three drops ON the beak," does that mean I literally let the drops fall on top of the beak, or should I try to get the beak open, or should I try to aim the dropper upwards so that it catches the curl of the upper beak? Could you be a little more specific on the how-to of using a dropper with a chicken? THanks!