Please Help! Young Pullet Limping!

[TheYLWFlock]

One of my 11 week old mix breed bantams is limping. I believe whatever happened occured between about 7:30pm last night and 9:20am this morning. As I went out to give them some dandelion leaves, they all came over, including her, but then I noticed that she was avoiding putting weight on her right leg. I gently scooped her up to see if there was any thorns, etc, stuck in her feet but there were none. I also had a look at her legs, and to be honest, they looked identical and normal, basically how they've always looked. When I picked her up she made no fuss as usual and didn't appear to be in pain when I gently felt her legs and feet. She otherwise looks healthy, except for the fact that unlike the others, her tail, and even her whole body is kind of droopy and she's limping around slowly. As far as eating and drinking, I haven't seen any of them do that yet (besides the dandelion greens) as I was only out for the span of less than 5 minutes. But they were all eating and drinking last night before going to bed. I don't really know what might have caused the problem, but it's possible that they got in a squabble. The three smaller bantams are in with a jersey giant and barred rock, so they are quite a bit smaller, but Buttercup (the injured Pullet) is quite high in the pecking order. None of the other birds appear injured in any way.

So basically I'm wondering what's going on. It's not broken I'm sure, but is it possible for chickens to get sprains? Is there something else going on that I'm not aware of? What are the steps that I should take to ensure she heals properly? I can post pictures if that would help you guys. Quick responses would really help so that I can start treating her ASAP. Thanks all.

 

[coach723]

It's very possible that it's just a sprain or tweak. If she's having trouble getting around, or is being kept from food and water, I would crate her for a while to let her rest and recover. I normally put my wire crate in the run so she is still with the other birds, everyone can still see everyone, but her movement is limited allowing her to rest, and she can get food and water without competition. If it's just a sprain then often a day or two may be all she needs and she'll look better. If she doesn't improve then you'll need to reassess.

 

[TheYLWFlock]

It's very possible that it's just a sprain or tweak. If she's having trouble getting around, or is being kept from food and water, I would crate her for a while to let her rest and recover. I normally put my wire crate in the run so she is still with the other birds, everyone can still see everyone, but her movement is limited allowing her to rest, and she can get food and water without competition. If it's just a sprain then often a day or two may be all she needs and she'll look better. If she doesn't improve then you'll need to reassess.

Thank you for your advice! I'm so glad to hear that it is easily fixable! I'll make sure to follow your advice and keep you updated. Thanks again!

 

[TheYLWFlock]

Great news! She is eating and drinking all by herself, running around with the others and her limp is noticeably lessened, so much that you can barely tell that she was ever even injured! Thank you @coach723 for putting my mind at ease, and now I know what to do in the future if it ever happens again!

 

[coach723]

Glad she's doing better!