My hen was stepped on by a horsey

[Bridgemoof]

One of my older sex-link hens wandered into one of the horse paddock's and was accidentally stepped on by a horse. :-( My SO saw it happen, and when I went to get her she was sitting out of the way in the bushes. I though surely she would be a goner, but it seems it is just her foot that was stepped on. She was able to limp around a little, so I took her into the house in a portable coop and am monitoring her. She is able to stand for a little while without putting weight on her foot, but I want her to stay off of her foot. When we pick her up, her toes curl on her good leg, but on her bad leg the toes just hang limp. She seems to have good mobility with the whole leg because she can bend it and hold it up when she is standing, she just doesn't want to put weight on her bad foot. She is eating okay, and seems to be in good spirits otherwise and not in a lot of pain.

So, my question is if a chickens breaks a bone, does it heal on it's own? How long is the recovery process? I am not sure what to do at this point besides keep her inside and off of her foot until it gets better (hoping).

Can a chicken even get around with only one leg?

Thanks to anyone who has had something similar happen or knows what to do for her. She's a good hen and I don't want her to suffer.

Bridget

 

[Snowygirl]

i had a hen who actually slipped, fell in a hole and broke her leg....can you feel or see where the leg is broken? my chickens leg broke way up high on the leg.....there was nothing we could do about it. but if yours has a break lower, i've heard countless stories of hens who lost use of a leg and where fine, or even had a splint put on it. what you can do is put her in a quiet place w/food and water and try to splint the leg.....i'll be praying

 

[Bridgemoof]

Thanks Snowy, I have her in a safe place now. We couldn't feel any place where it was broken. So maybe she is just bruised badly. I'm hoping she heals on her own in a couple of days.

 

[Turken Lover9847]

Your hen should consider herself lucky , I had a Delaware Hen That her head got stepped on by a horse . Thankfully she lived and we still have her today

. I would give your hen a couple of weeks to let that bone heal . Is there any broken skin ?

 

[SilkieBantams]

The bones of a chicken will heal in time. So just let her get some rest as she's in pain.

 

[Bridgemoof]

The skin doesn't look broken, thankfully. I let her out today a little in the yard and she just hopped around basically on one leg. So back into the crate she went! But what if she gets egg bound? She hasn't laid an egg in 3 days now and I think she usually lays one every day.

 

[Snowygirl]

i think that she sounds fine....i'm so happy that it doesn't sound like a bad break! good luck,keep me posted!!