Please Help My Roo Can't Use 1 Leg

[Crazychickenlady80]

Hi i noticed a few days ago that my Roo was limping i thought he had possibly sprang his leg so i left him inside the coop to rest and recover, but its no better and i've researched all over and i think his leg is broken but im not sure since im a 1st time chicken owner i would feel better with some feed back from more experienced individuals.

 

[ChickenGeek_101]

Welcome to BYC!

I don't have any useful information for you, but there is always someone here that can help.
Good luck!

 

[Crazychickenlady80]

Thank you so much

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your rooster. How old is he? Are your roosts very high? It is hard to see both legs in the pictures to compare them for swelling. Is his foot or hock swollen compared to the other? Is he moving the leg, or does it seem numb or paralyzed? A vet could take an xray to rule out a break, and that would cost some money.

Sprains and broken bones can take weeks to heal, and rest is needed, in a pen or dog crate with food and water. Vet wrap and padding can be good for splinting. Make sure that he can reach food and water. Chicken slings can be helpful to use for several hours at a time, to get them upright and in front of food and water.

If the leg or foot seem more numb, then Mareks disease could be a problem. Usually, in that case, they may use their wings to get around and help balance. Check the bottom of his foot to look for a bumble foot scab, just to rule that out.

 

[Stayc]

Im not experienced but i did have a hen with a sprain a few weeks ago. If you can feel his leg all the way from ankle to the top (shank, i guess) do this for both legs and try to see if there is a difference. Also when feeling the injured leg feel for extra warmth. Thats usually a sign of trauma. My girl healed up in 10 days. The ankle was warm not visibly swollen. I let her stay out with the flock. If he isn't putting any weight on it, it may be broken. 81mg chewable asprin can be given for pain. Let us know if you feel anything when doing the leg inspection.

 

[Crazychickenlady80]

Sorry about your rooster. How old is he? Are your roosts very high? It is hard to see both legs in the pictures to compare them for swelling. Is his foot or hock swollen compared to the other? Is he moving the leg, or does it seem numb or paralyzed? A vet could take an xray to rule out a break, and that would cost some money.

Sprains and broken bones can take weeks to heal, and rest is needed, in a pen or dog crate with food and water. Vet wrap and padding can be good for splinting. Make sure that he can reach food and water. Chicken slings can be helpful to use for several hours at a time, to get them upright and in front of food and water.

If the leg or foot seem more numb, then Mareks disease could be a problem. Usually, in that case, they may use their wings to get around and help balance. Check the bottom of his foot to look for a bumble foot scab, just to rule that out.

 

[Crazychickenlady80]

He's only about 5mos old. I'm sorry about the pics. I had originally taken a video.of him trying to walk so that it would show exactly whats going on, but every time i try it says its to big and cant seem to figure out how to reduce the size. As for my roost, it is high but i take him out and put him back in every morning and evening. The leg is slightly swelled, i'm gonna look his leg over more closely in the morning. Thank you for responding.. I will update soon..

 

[Crazychickenlady80]

Im not experienced but i did have a hen with a sprain a few weeks ago. If you can feel his leg all the way from ankle to the top (shank, i guess) do this for both legs and try to see if there is a difference. Also when feeling the injured leg feel for extra warmth. Thats usually a sign of trauma. My girl healed up in 10 days. The ankle was warm not visibly swollen. I let her stay out with the flock. If he isn't putting any weight on it, it may be broken. 81mg chewable asprin can be given for pain. Let us know if you feel anything when doing the leg inspection.

His leg is slightly swollen and he does put very slight bit of weight on it when trying to get around. I'm going to check both legs over and see if i feel any warmth or anything abnormal in the morning. I made a video but cant get it posted (keeps saying it's to big) hopefully I can figure out how to trim it down to a size that can be uploaded.. I will update later today. Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

You can only post photos directly to BYC. For videos you'll need to upload it to YouTube, Vimeo or your own website and provide a link. I chose Vimeo and found the upload to be faster than YouTube.

Have you felt his hips and under the wings for wounds? I would do a thorough examination, beak to backend and on down to the bottom of his feet.

Also, for the next week or so while you observe whether he worsens or starts getting better, I would put him in a brooder or dog carrier to sleep at night. He can stay in the coop unless he begins to exhibit other symptoms. The others here can coach you on what to look for.

The idea is to prevent him from trying to roost. If you put him up there yourself, he could be nudged off during the night or jump down in the morning on his own and worsen the injury, assuming his leg was indeed fractured or broken.

 

[Crazychickenlady80]

https://vimeo.com/user77912572Ok finally got a video uploaded.. Hopefully it will help give a better idea of whats going on. I checked his leg and its a lil swelled no obvious trauma, cuts or abrasions. Thank you so much for everyones imput so far