One leg completely floppy/nonfunctional

[judybee]

Three year old mix hen, suddenly not able to walk due to one bad leg yesterday. It's completely without muscle tone-- foot just hangs there- leg flops from the first joint. (The 'Backwards knee'). Side to side hangs, if that makes sense-- it's not hanging down to the floor if I pick her up (although the foot does).

Joint feels different than other one - thicker, hot, moves more when manipulated (like joint or bones moving?). No visible breaks or injuries on the part of the leg I can see (scaly part)

I'm guessing she twisted/broke/pulled something in the coop somehow.

I have her in a comfy crate, she's eating and drinking and laid what must have been one very painful egg.

Would love to avoid the vet if possible, but will take her if I must. Starting here for thoughts though. Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Vet care may be best, but it sounds like possible dislocation(?) Slipped Tendon(?)

You mention she laid a "large egg" - did she get any better after laying the egg?

Offer her some poultry vitamins containing B2(Riboflavin) or crush a human B-Complex tab and add it to her food.

You could try splinting, but without knowing exactly what is going on, not sure if it would hurt/help. Sounds like if it's thicker and feels hot, there's some swelling and possibly infection at the joint. You can try soaking in a tepid epsom salt bath to see if that helps reduce swelling. For pain, dissolve 81mg Aspirin (like low dose Bayer) in 1quart water, let her drink free choice.

If she still has trouble in the next day or so, consider making a sling for her to help get her upright and from laying on the leg (supervised or for short periods of time) some chickens do well in a sling, while others go bonkers, so you will have to see how she does.

Keep us posted.

Good resource covering various leg issues:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Basic splinting/wrapping for bird injuries:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinting_Manual_2010.pdf

Here's some ideas for a sling - search here on BYC or Google you can find a few photos to get creative.

 

[judybee]

Vet care may be best, but it sounds like possible dislocation(?) Slipped Tendon(?)

You mention she laid a "large egg" - did she get any better after laying the egg?

Offer her some poultry vitamins containing B2(Riboflavin) or crush a human B-Complex tab and add it to her food.

You could try splinting, but without knowing exactly what is going on, not sure if it would hurt/help. Sounds like if it's thicker and feels hot, there's some swelling and possibly infection at the joint. You can try soaking in a tepid epsom salt bath to see if that helps reduce swelling. For pain, dissolve 81mg Aspirin (like low dose Bayer) in 1quart water, let her drink free choice.

If she still has trouble in the next day or so, consider making a sling for her to help get her upright and from laying on the leg (supervised or for short periods of time) some chickens do well in a sling, while others go bonkers, so you will have to see how she does.

Keep us posted.

Good resource covering various leg issues:
https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

Basic splinting/wrapping for bird injuries:
https://theiwrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Duerr_Splinti

Awesome response, thank you!! Really awesome.

 

[judybee]

So I ended up vetting it... Spiral fracture at the bottom of the large upper leg bone, just above the joint. Decided against surgery; too hard to splint the upper leg reliably;-- so just isolating/immobilizing while it hopefully knits/builds new bone. Giving extra calcium supplements so the eggs don't take from the bone, and pain meds. And hugs. Xray:.

I'm loving the egg on the xray btw!

 

[Chickenlover2017]

Good luck hope he/she gets better soon

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad you were able to take her to the vet. Thanks for sharing the xray. Poor dear, chickens can do a number on themselves at times.

I always find it interesting to see an egg show on xrays!

Hopefully with rest and TLC she will mend quickly. Please keep us updated.

 

[Glenda Heywoodo]

Well good you had it xrayed.May I suggest what I always fed my chickens healthy or sick
For one hen
WET MASH PROBIOTIC RECIPE
Well my solution would be my WET MASH PROBIOTIC to help her gut as it may have E.Ccoli and the wet mash will not hurt the chicken.
It should be fed 2 times a week to all chickens so they stay healthy.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=207404369754617&id=100014551661422

Here is the recipe and explanation.
chicken/three vit's/wet mash/E.coli
For this problem I recommend my wet mash probiotic with yoguart be given.
I prefer to use the wet mash probiotic that includes chicken feed, yoguart and milk with applesauce
because chickens will eat the yoguart completely in the wet mash where as some chickens will not just eat yoguart ans it gets on their beaks, of which then they throw it away when cleaning the beaks
as you will notice if standing too close to them eating the yoguart

So read on down where I give the recipe
some advice for helping the chicken get over the hen.

I would suggest and advanced case of E.coli.

With all that is noted here is some good help that I have found to work for the health of the chicken

you mention she has a broken eg or hip, due to stress she may have a gut problem.
So here is what I would do at this time to help her get to feeling better

I would start with the Vit E and Vit B complex and Selenium with wet mash
A) chickens do get some upset in the gut with E.coli and then it goes to a nervous disorder
natural probiotic wet mash with Vit E and Vit B complex added immediately
basically the chicken has some nerve damage from the E.coli do this immediately
need neurolodigal vit E and Vit B complex for E.coli and the nervous disorder Also the apple cider vineager in water

(1) 2 tbsp acv per gallon of water till chickens are well and then 2 times a week for life
for one chicken use 1 tbsp of ACV
1 pint of water

(2 immediately give the chicken 1000 mg capsule of liquid Vit E by cutting the end of the capsule and taking the vit E liquid and mix in wet mash probiotic

(2-B) total amt of capsules equals the total amt of chickens fed vit's multiply amt of recipe times amt of chickens fed it and the amt of vit's times amt of chickens given them

(3 also need to crush a vit B complex pill in tabsp and add tsp of water to it
put it in the chickens wet mash after it is dissolved also a Selenium tablet crushed add water and then add to wet mash mixture.

(3-C) then give this to the chicken twice a week for two weeks should see much improvement

after the chicken has eaten the wet mash probiotic clean wet feeder and restock dry crumble feed.

(4 Do both Vit's twice today then for 7 days till you see some improvement in the chicken

(5 today I would see if the chicken will eat a wet mash with the Vitamins E and B complex and Selenium.

(-B) THIS IS FOR ONE CHICKEN
natural probiotic wet mash
2 tbp of dry crumbles
1 tbsp flax seed meal (the kind people take)
3 tbp of milk sweet, sour or buttermilk
1 tbsp of non flavored yogurt
2 tbsp of apple sauce
put it on top so the chicken can smell and see it
mix good and put the
vit E liquid as directed in the wet mash
and crumble the Vit B complex tablet in a tabsp and add to the wet mash
**BESURE AND MIX VIT'S VERY GOOD IN WET MASH***

(6 Do this twice a day for 7 days to see if the chicken is better
then do this once a day for another week then once a week for a while
this should give the nervous system some stability and cure the bad E.coli in the gut
(6-A) they should clean it up in 20-30 minutes
this will help them get good gut flora
also put 2 tbsp of ACV in gallon of water and keep giving them this water for a week straight
then give it 3-5 times a week for life
Glenda Heywood Cassville Missouri

 

[SaraY]

Hello,
Did the hen recover?
I am having the same issue with my hen. One leg is floppy, but bent and not hanging down if I pick her up. She doesn't seem to have any visible injury but she can't use her leg. I have her in a separate cage and planning to make a sling for her in order to keep her comfortable and clean (of poop). She drinks, eats and poops well and is very alert, curious and in good condition every other way except for that one leg.
Sara

 

[judybee]

Hi! Sorry to hear about your hen. My hen's break was too high up to splint or sling, so she built up a rough bone repair around the break after 1.5 months in a small space, but she doesn't walk well at all still. If you image google broken chicken leg (), there are good images of what to look for in case you have a break lower on the leg, which you could splint. I'd suggest a vet if possible, but in all cases, in case it's a break, I would give supplemental calcium so she's not pulling from the bone for her eggs. Good luck, let me know what happens!

 

[SaraY]

Hello,
Thank You so much for the answer! I am fairly new in raising chickens
She is getting vitamins+electrolytes in her water. And actually she is not laying any eggs. Could it be because of her age? She is around 4 years old (I got her as an adult that's why I don't know the exact age). Or is it a defence system that if the body is in need of calcium then the egg laying stops to provide enough vitamins and minerals for the hen herself? She wasn't laying much eggs before the injury as well so I am not sure about the reasons for that.
Yesterday I made the sling for her. She really seems to enjoy it as I see that she is relaxed and calm in it.
Does a chicken give away any signs of an injury? I touched her leg and she didn't seem to have any pain and trouble with the leg other than not being able to move it.
I am guessing that the injury might have come from the rooster. As this hen is older than the others (others are about a year + 3-4 months) she is not so resistant to the rooster. Young ladies run away from him and the older one becomes the target more often. Rooster is a young boy as well and quite harsh with his doings. He has a trouble with balance while mating and then stomps and moves on the hens a lot. I separated the older hen as soon as I saw that she was limping. She has the sling in a small cage so no one can bother her. Also I built an inside wall in the run area so hens can go past it but the rooster doesn't fit through. Thereby the ladies can go to the "quiet corner" and roo is left behind the bars

I have 7 hens and 1 rooster in total so they are all oh so precious to me and I am really worried if something happens to them.

Greetings from Estonia!