Limping Rooster-foot looks fine

[peachRN]

Hey all, I have a 4 month old Rooster who has had a limp for about a week. The first day I noticed it, I caught him and examined his foot and didn't see anything unusual.

A week later, he's still limping--and it's worsened a bit. I caught him again today, soaked his feet in epsom salt water, and rinsed them off well. Still no sign of anything from what I can tell. He is just reaching sexual maturity and has been chasing his girls around like crazy, and failing--they won't let him near them. I figured maybe he sprained something, but wouldn't it be starting to heal after a week, not get worse? Any ideas?

 

[coach723]

You are correct, it's highly likely that it's a sprain or strain. It can sometimes take weeks to heal. I have a young hen right now in a separate run because of a young cockerel that sprained one of her legs. She's on her second week of separation and is improving, but still limping. Young cockerels can be terrorists (not their fault, it's hormones). I would separate him, separate run, or wire crate in the run so he can still see and hear the others, until he's recovered. That will keep him from re injuring himself trying, and limit his activity to let him heal. It may be days, or it may be weeks, just depends on how his particular injury is.