Leg won't bear weight: hawk strike injury

[NH-Song]

I'll be strapping her back into her sling, but she'd escaped (again) and I'm clearly going to have to re-think how I'm keeping her in it. I have to be out some of tomorrow, so I'm thinking of letting her stay in the bedding-lined bin until I get back home, even though it'll give her the chance to use her legs. It's closed in, which feels safer, when I can't be around to keep an eye on her.

This is the face of a wicked chicken.

 

[Weeg]

I'll be strapping her back into her sling, but she'd escaped (again) and I'm clearly going to have to re-think how I'm keeping her in it. I have to be out some of tomorrow, so I'm thinking of letting her stay in the bedding-lined bin until I get back home, even though it'll give her the chance to use her legs. It's closed in, which feels safer, when I can't be around to keep an eye on her.

This is the face of a wicked chicken.

Maybe you can try a strap over the top of the sling, going over her back to hold her in. That might work. Or, if you had a plastic lid, like for a large plastic bin, you could cut a hole in it to be roomy for her head, and then strap it down over the sling so it sat close or touching her back, and that might hold her in. I don't know if you would want to leave immediately though, maybe something you would want to try, and then watch. Wouldn't want her to get stuck and hurt trying to escape through the hole.

 

[NH-Song]

I'd already strapped cloth over her back and pinned it down with clamps. She slithered out from under that and out from the leg-holes of the sling. I think she's just mis-named and she should be Houdini.

Tomorrow, when I get back home, I'll bring the sling upstairs to my office so she can hang out with me. That'll keep her entertained. I hope.

This has been a real learning experience.

 

[Weeg]

I'd already strapped cloth over her back and pinned it down with clamps. She slithered out from under that and out from the leg-holes of the sling. I think she's just mis-named and she should be Houdini.

Tomorrow, when I get back home, I'll bring the sling upstairs to my office so she can hang out with me. That'll keep her entertained. I hope.

This has been a real learning experience.

Is is a great leaning expeiance! I bet you could take another stip of cloth and put it in front of her chest, and pull it tight to keep her from wiggling forward. That will probably work pretty well actually. Are you seeing the image?Hoe pits not to confusing. You are doing so good with her!

 

[NH-Song]

That's a good idea - I've got enough random pieces of cloth to tie her up eight ways to Sunday, so...

She's easy to be nice to - of that group of four chicks, she's always liked cuddling and attention. She'd be happy now if I just carried her around all day, like a weird, loud football.

 

[Weeg]

That's a good idea - I've got enough random pieces of cloth to tie her up eight ways to Sunday, so...

She's easy to be nice to - of that group of four chicks, she's always liked cuddling and attention. She'd be happy now if I just carried her around all day, like a weird, loud football.

That is so cute! I wish I had a hen like that! She sounds amazing!

 

[WindingRoad]

Yesterday, one of my young Olive Eggers was injured in a hawk strike. My husband heard her screaming and I ran out and scared off the hawk. The poor hen (Enid, the nicest and gentlest of the four Olives) had a single slice through the skin of her left breast, which I treated and have wrapped up, but her right leg won't bear weight.

It doesn't appear to be broken anywhere, all of the joints work easily, and from what I can feel, all of the tendons are still in place. She can move her toes (she was holding onto my finger hard enough to pinch, while I was trying to wrap her leg up to her body to keep her from continuing to try to use it), but the foot and leg are noticeably colder than her left.

Right now she's inside my basement, lying down propped up on a pile of bedding (in an open-topped plastic bin) with water, food, and one of her buddies, but I don't know what else to do.

How can I tell where her leg is injured?

(ETA: All the other hens are under cover and were uninjured. For now, until we figure out how to suspend orange netting over their full run, they'll remain under cover in the covered run. Given that it's currently really cold and windy, they're mostly okay with that, but they clearly miss the choice to go out and poke around.)

One of my leghorns got her foot/leg caught in a wire dog cage. She jumped up on it an leg/foot got wedged in there. Chickens are tough. I picked her up and feed her separately from the other birds in a nest box for a while. Then I moved her to a smaller coop to feed and water. She couldn't walk in the leg either. She hobbled a lot and could hop away from the other birds. I thought what would happen in the wild. She'd get better. I did give her one baby aspirin morning and night for pain. But other that feeding her alone I kinda left her to do her thing. She slept under the roost for a few nights. But at about 6-7 days into the incident she was getting on the roost. I was worried that when she jumped down she would injure the foot/leg again so I was taking her down but she would get right up again. She is fine now. Took about 2 weeks for her to venture out into the run. She has an area couple of inches above her foot that has no scales and looks like a ring of tissue. Hard to describe. It's not swelling. But she is fine now. I did PT with her some just extending and retracting the leg. And I noticed one day she was doing that on her own. So remember chickens are tough they seem to be able to heal themselves. Good luck

 

[NH-Song]

@WindingRoad - thank you! I'm glad your leghorn got better. I'm hoping Enid does - she's already a bit better. I might build her a low roost for her first few weeks in the main coop, but that'll be next week, probably.

I hadn't thought about giving her baby aspirin. While I'm out tomorrow, I'll pick some up.

 

[Weeg]

@WindingRoad - thank you! I'm glad your leghorn got better. I'm hoping Enid does - she's already a bit better. I might build her a low roost for her first few weeks in the main coop, but that'll be next week, probably.

I hadn't thought about giving her baby aspirin. While I'm out tomorrow, I'll pick some up.

Goo idea, do be careful with aspirin, because pain isn't the evil and terrible thing it is always thought to be, it is a natural thing designed by nature to keep animals chill, and calm, while healing. If her leg doesn't hurt, she wants to escape and walk around, this will stress her leg, and future hurt her. See who she does on the aspirin. If she seems like she wants to put weight on the leg and is more rambuctouse, maybe give less, or none at all. Hope this helps! I think aspirin is a good idea, just be careful. Hope this helps and good job with your hen!

 

[NH-Song]

@Weeg - Hmm. More rambunctious might not be a good thing. Enid's already pushy.