Limping rooster - need advice.

JHH3

Songster
Dec 7, 2020
102
154
126
North West Wisconsin
My rooster, Rudy, a 1 year old Wyandotte started limping a few days ago. A couple days after I noticed him limping, he started staying inside sitting face into a nesting box and was getting picked at a little so I've taken him out and put him into my chicken sick ward.

It looks like his back toe is very swollen, not sure if it's sprained, dislocated or broken. He likely landed wrong coming off the roosting bar, he's pretty big and hits with a good thump when he jumps down (the roosting bar is waist high, maybe around 3 foot off the floor, and I try to keep lots of wood shavings on the floor in front of it but they tend to scratch them toward the front/back of the coop).

Couple of pictures below.

He can still hobble around, though he's been sitting a lot. He'll stand on it, but tends to lift it up. I've been trying to get him to take a baby aspirin every day for the pain.

Is there anything else I can do for him? How would I tell if it's a dislocated toe? What would I do about it if it is? I can try to get more pictures if that would help.


1619367753384.png


1619367781717.png
 
I guess I'm on my own. I'll give it a few days then I'll see if he'll sit still long enough for me to gently manipulate the toe to see what's what.
 
I’m not an expert on chickens but this could be a sprain, which can take days to weeks to heal, or it could be an infection like synovitis, which would require medication like Tylan.
Do his hawks seem hot? That can be another symptom of synovitis.
Have you seen any dark scabs around the swollen area, that could mean bumblefoot.
If his droppings are really white “excessive urates” it could be gout.
 
I know this thread is a little outdated, but I found it while searching my own limping rooster issue. (Goosebaby also helped me!) JHH3, would you mind sharing an update as to what happened? I am curious!!
 
He's walking on it ok these days, though I think that ankle is a little fatter around than the other one. Might just be the angles that I'm able to get a look at it though. My assumption is that his back toe got dislocated or broken and it's healed well enough that he can walk around and roost ok, though I'm not convinced the toe works any more. If I remember and can get a good picture of it, I'll post it.
 
Current picture of the state of his ankle, which is in the foreground and has the pinkish tinge.

1624017886137.png



His good ankle in the foreground compared to his bad ankle in the back, the back toe on his bad foot doesn't appear to touch the ground any more and the ankle is slightly larger.

1624018289690.png
 
His spurs might be the cause as they seem to grow inwards and not backwards.

The right spur will scrape his left foot with each step he takes, so I would Dremel them off to avoid further injuries.
 
My alpha hen, who is a small Salmon Faverolle, was beaten down pretty badly by my broody Speckled Sussex and has been limping for a few days too. I gave her a baby aspirin twice a day for three days and she seems to be recovering (though she still favors that leg and has trouble getting down from the loft). I’m hoping she heals up as well as Rudy!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom