Little Banty stepped on by a cow = Leg broken & floppy - Trimming leg feathers??

[MESOFRUFFEH]

Hello everyone,

I have stalked your forums for a while and here over the last few days especially. I have been a long time chicken lover, we had over 300 when I was young and I spent every last minute of my day in the chicken pen, so I am no stranger to chickens. However, I have never quite had to deal with the issue I am dealing with now. And sorry I am so long winded but I like to include all details I think would be necessary so that I can get better answers

I have a little pekin bantam, named Pajamas, and as usual, I let my ladies out to roam the pasture every morning. This weekend I came out to the chicken yard to discover some cows had come in and drank all their water and ate all their food (I have taken measures to prevent this from happening in the future trust me!) and left a few cow pies here and there. No one else was in the chicken yard except for Pajamas, and one look at her I immediately knew something was wrong, she was separated from the rest of the flock and laying down all by herself. When I went to pick her up it was very apparent she had no use of one of her legs. I can only assume she was stepped on my one of the aforementioned cows. Further inspection revealed a dangly limb broken just below the hock. No broken skin, no blood, but I can clearly see where the bone is broken. She appears to either 1) have no control over the movement of her toes or 2) is in too much pain to move them because they only twitch.

I found an old finger tip splint that when opened made the perfect little leg splint for her. She seems to be much more "comfortable" "moving" now that the splint is on (I say that with quotes because she doesn't really move she just re-positions herself a little and I can assure you she is far from comfortable lol) I am assuming because her poor little leg isnt just dangling around under her anymore.

I said all that to pretty much get to my main question - she has SO MANY FEATHERS, she is so floofy! Her little legs are so feathery and so are her feet that I have one hell of a time examining her leg or doing anything to it. I tried to trim them a little last night and also around her vent because she was developing dingle berries (is there a legitimate scientific word for that?? lol!) but that task is much easier said than done. Should I attempt to trim her leg feathers so that I can see what I am doing a little better and get her little leg wrapped up properly? I know that if you cut them too short they will bleed and it was always my impression that this was not painful, however, I would like to prevent causing her any further pain in addition to what she is already experiencing. BTW, I thought about giving her aspirin but have heard good and bad about it. If I dissolved 1/2 aspirin in a cup of water is that too much??

What is the best way to go about doing this? My kitchen scissors? Or does anyone else have a better method? Or should I just leave it be and pray for the best? I have googled so many times but most of the results are not applicable to my situation which is why I am asking here.

Also, if ANYONE has ANY suggestions I am totally open to them. She has not been eating but I plan on trying to force her to if she doesnt start here soon. I have been offering her crushed boiled eggs/shells and I also bought some fowl electrolyte solution I have been mixing with the egg as well as some chick starter crumbles & laying pellets. I have another hen that was given to me over the weekend with a limp, very pale, and appears to have fowl pox (dry thank goodness) so I have been nursing these two the past few days.

I have Pajamas in my bunny's old cage which is wire with a plastic bottom, and I used some of the bunny's litter box material to make her a bed. It looks like shredded paper but is much much softer, since I did that and splinted her she appears more comfortable but she still does not seem to be eating or drinking even though I have placed food and water both within reach for her without needing to move. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you in advance for any advice or answers you have for me. Hopefully this will be the first of many posts to this forum, I keep coming back to it time and time again.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. I would isolate her in a cage with food and water, but place her near the other chickens so that she remains a part of the flock. Splinting would be good if you see a displaced limb, or you can try to let her heel on her own. Don't splint to tightly to cut of circulation. B complex vitamins may help with healing.

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

Thank you for the welcome

I did some trimming of her floofy booty last night because it really was so hard to see what was going on and even to feel around. I am about 99% positive that her entire thigh/hip area is just crushed. She must have really gotten stepped on good or kicked just right. I don't know how to describe it, but it's like that whole leg is just floppy and useless all the way up to where it meets her body. I'm afraid she may never have use of that leg again.

She was not eating and had been panting heavily so I moved her into the house. We have had a "cold front" come thru but high temps are still in the mid to upper 90's and I was worried about her being uncomfortable and hot as there hasnt been much of a breeze and its very humid. Last night i dripped some electrolyte solution on her beak to get her to drink some. This morning she greeted me with a few clucks and i gave her some dry starter crumbles and she began to eat and drink voluntarily which is the first I could tell she had touched food or water since I brought her up, despite it being well within reach. The weather looked a bit like rain, and I really would have hated to leave her outside in that cage in the chicken pen. The other chickens roam out in the woods so she would have been there all by herself and exposed to the elements, or else cooped up in the chicken house . She has been up under the carport near my other sick chicken and 2 baby chicks. But now she will be kept company by the bunny and the cats and our little birds who are all in the house because that is where I left her today while I am at work.

Now that she is eating and drinking I am not so worried about her, but I still wonder if she is injured as badly as I think she is, will she be able to have any kind of a life or be mobile again? I do not know what to do for her other than keep her comfortable and healthy. I am not above turning her into a house chicken lol, I have a huge soft spot for crippled animals. She does not act like she is in a great deal of pain but I know she has to be. I do not know how to splint her leg now that I'm sure it is broken even worse. Should I just wrap it - not tightly - kind of close to her body like it would be if she was laying down, to prevent it from flopping to the side and all round if/when she tries to move?

THANK YOU again for the help!! Never had to deal with a broken leg before in any of my animals thankfully!!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would be afraid to splint it myself if it is crushed. I would probably let her just heal a little near her food and water, and later she may be able to scoot herself around. Chickens are such amazing little creatures to endure that kind of pain. A vet could probably give you some metacam for pain. Aspirin is given, but I would be concerned that it might cause bleeding. You also might look at some pictures of chicken slings or chairs to get her up off the ground. I will try to post a few of those for you tomorrow. Sorry that I didn't see your latest post for some time.

 

[Eggcessive]

Some pictures of chicken slings:

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

No worries!!! Like I said I have been googling a lot and I found some of the same pics just yesterday lol! That last one tho looks like what I need to be portable!!

Should I exercise her other leg during this time or give her time out of the sling or just let her hang out until she is healed up better? Also, shall I cut a "poop hole" so her poop can drop thru? This is definitely going to be what I do tonight, because she scoots herself all over her cage now and gets too far from the water etc. I really appreciate your help and advice. I have been feeding her small bits of chopped grapes and cucumber since she hasnt been eating and drinking much, she seems to respond to eating better when things are dropped in front of her.

We are going to the lake Friday night and coming home Saturday afternoon and I just don't know how I feel about leaving her. I don't know how I feel about taking her either, so I might have to find a chicken sitter. I feel so bad for her. She is such a sweet girl. And you are right about chickens being such amazing creatures, I have seen chickens pull through some of the worst things. I had some roosters get into a fight one time and one of them nearly died but I babied him and he made a full recovery. I could not believe what he went thru but took it like a champ the entire time.

Thanks again!! I got to get back to work before I get in trouble lol

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

I would be afraid to splint it myself if it is crushed. I would probably let her just heal a little near her food and water, and later she may be able to scoot herself around. Chickens are such amazing little creatures to endure that kind of pain. A vet could probably give you some metacam for pain. Aspirin is given, but I would be concerned that it might cause bleeding. You also might look at some pictures of chicken slings or chairs to get her up off the ground. I will try to post a few of those for you tomorrow. Sorry that I didn't see your latest post for some time.

Also I just wanted to let you know I did a lot more searching the forums and I found quite a few posts from you that will definitely help. Looks like you hang out in the injuries forum a lot and I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge!! I myself and I am sure many others appreciate it more than we can express!

 

[Eggcessive]

The empty chicken sling pictures include a hole for droppings to pass through. This usually allows the chickens to keep cleaner, and not lie in there droppings. I think that exercising her legs out of the sling would be very good for her, and would help her circulation. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[MESOFRUFFEH]

The empty chicken sling pictures include a hole for droppings to pass through. This usually allows the chickens to keep cleaner, and not lie in there droppings. I think that exercising her legs out of the sling would be very good for her, and would help her circulation. Thanks for the compliment.

You are welcome My boyfriend was kind enough to donate a shirt he doesnt care for and I fashioned this sling this afternoon, she absolutely hates it. Which is funny because she doesn't move much at all but she does not want to be in here lol. I added the ace bandage to keep her contained a little better. I did discover that gently wrapping her in the ace bandage kept her calm and easier to work with when I took her leg splint off. She could probably get out of here if she really wanted to but I feel better knowing she is going to have a harder time and I don't think she wants out that bad. Her poor little leg tho I just feel so horrible for her.

She really loves grapes, is there any harm in that being most of what she eats? i drop them in the crumbles which sticks to them so she is getting crumbles too but mostly grapes. I have some electrolyte solution but she does not like it, the mixing instructions were more for commercial use and adding to a commercial watering system so I wasnt sure what ratio to mix it, and i think it is a bit strong.



My poor sweet Pajamas

 

[Eggcessive]

She looks sweet in her sling. What brand of electrolytes do you have? Some of them call for making a solution, and then taking a certain amount out to add to a gallon of water. Most feed stores carry ones where you add small amount to a gallon of water. Rooster Booster makes Vitamins With Lactobacillus, that is vits, electrlolytes, and a probiotic. Durvet makes one in a small bottle, plus packets for the big 50 gallon tanks. Some grapes are good. Adding water to her feed to make it soupy might get her to drink and eat better.