Quail with a Limp

[Lilyofsalen]

I have a young hen with a leg injury. There is no blood, no bruising, no bumblefoot, no obvious breaks, no swelling, and the joints have good movement. She can use the leg and puts weight on it but has a hitch in her step. It looks like she is limping up from her hip. She did not like it when I stretched out her injured leg to test joint movement. When she first got the injury, I left her be and she rapidly improved. However, I was forced to move more birds into the group she was with after some recent predator attacks. She started limping again and I put her in a small hospital cage indoors for a week. She has improved a little but is still limping. How long should this type of injury take to heal? Will she be stuck with a limp forever? Should I keep her in the hospital cage or put her back with the others?

 

[cherrynberry]

I have a young hen with a leg injury. There is no blood, no bruising, no bumblefoot, no obvious breaks, no swelling, and the joints have good movement. She can use the leg and puts weight on it but has a hitch in her step. It looks like she is limping up from her hip. She did not like it when I stretched out her injured leg to test joint movement. When she first got the injury, I left her be and she rapidly improved. However, I was forced to move more birds into the group she was with after some recent predator attacks. She started limping again and I put her in a small hospital cage indoors for a week. She has improved a little but is still limping. How long should this type of injury take to heal? Will she be stuck with a limp forever? Should I keep her in the hospital cage or put her back with the others?

Depends on her. I have had 2 quails with limps, one of them recovered and then started again (like yours). Both have recovered since then. Took 1.5 months. 2 months for the second bird.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

Depends on her. I have had 2 quails with limps, one of them recovered and then started again (like yours). Both have recovered since then. Took 1.5 months. 2 months for the second bird.

Wow! That's a long recovery time. Did you keep yours separate the whole time or put them back with the others? Mine has only been separate for a week and she is not happy about it.

 

[cherrynberry]

Wow! That's a long recovery time. Did you keep yours separate the whole time or put them back with the others? Mine has only been separate for a week and she is not happy about it.

The second bird got hurt twice. The first bird took awhile, yeah. The first bird took closer to 3 weeks actually, sorry about that, it's been a while since she recovered.

I kept the second bird in my room (she had a cut). I coated it with ointment for her. For the other bird, I left her on her own, mostly.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

It took a while but I found she healed up on her own nicely. So this post has a good ending