Rooster has an injured leg

[chicknmania]

How is your chicken that got hit?

 

[Chickittymel]

How is your chicken that got hit?

She died in surgery just a little while ago. I’m incredibly crushed right now.

 

[chicknmania]

I'm so sorry for your loss, and all your issues. But...you will have a lot of laughs, joys, tears, worries...having poultry. That's just the way it is. The laughs and joy far outweigh the tears and worry. And with every one, you will learn something. They all have their own story from start to finish. IMO, that's part of what makes chicken keeping so fascinating. Just keep going, you'll get through this.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about losing your hen to the car. My young pullets used to be bad about jumping their 4 foot fence even though they had plenty of room in their field. A trimmed wing did nothing to stop them. Eventually they outgrew that when they were a year old. Cars, neighborhood or stray dogs, and predators can all be a danger. But they love to free range so badly that I could never keep them penned up in a run all day. It hurts to lose one occasionally, but they are happy chickens.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Will he eat from your hand? If he will, you can give him a baby aspirin up to three times a day in a treat. I crush up the aspirin and roll it up in a tiny ball of bread with just a little bit of peanut butter spread on it to bind the aspirin. Or, you can put it in a grape.
It might help. Usually though this only works if you can catch him away from the hens, otherwise, he'll just try to give it to them. But we have an old rooster who I sometimes give a baby aspirin to as he has an occasional limp. He likes peanut butter a lot, and he'll eat it, and not try to give it to a hen. It does help. I'm guessing he has arthritis or maybe a bruised foot or slight sprain.

In your case, though, it could be something else. Your cockerel might have the beginnings of Marek's disease, or there are other viral cancers that can cause lameness. He might also have MS. (Mycoplasma Synovae) If his joints (hock or foot joints) are warm and swollen, MS is likely. You can try treating it with Denagard treatment strength, or LS50, (Lincomycin) if you can get it. Watch him to make sure he does not deteriorate, because if he quits eating or develops additional symptoms, then his lameness issue is most likely viral. If no more symptoms develop, and he doesn't really get worse, and has no heat or swelling, he might just have a sprain or he may have torn something, or, it could be genetic.

Anyway, if he were mine, for starters I'd concentrate on trying to get him to eat the aspirin in a treat. 3 times a day. It won't hurt a hen if she gets some. Also, you can try soaking his leg/ foot in Epsom Salts for at least ten minutes a day.

If he has swelling in his joints, and they're warm,, and you still are having problems confining him, you can try the Denagard and just use it as preventative strength for the whole flock, and see if he improves on just a preventative strength dose.

If you wanted to try LS50 You'd most likely have to get it from a vet, and that might not be what they'd recommend, but it has worked for us in the past, for an MS case we had.

 

[Chickittymel]

Sorry about losing your hen to the car. My young pullets used to be bad about jumping their 4 foot fence even though they had plenty of room in their field. A trimmed wing did nothing to stop them. Eventually they outgrew that when they were a year old. Cars, neighborhood or stray dogs, and predators can all be a danger. But they love to free range so badly that I could never keep them penned up in a run all day. It hurts to lose one occasionally, but they are happy chickens.

Thanks. I refuse to lose any more. I put posts in today for an 8 x 24 ft run. I’m gonna give it a screened top and build some chicken toys (perches, swings, huts) in one end....since my chicks always cross the road to play in the run down junky barn across the road. I’ll let them free range when I am home on the weekends.

 

[Chickittymel]

Well, James is a stubborn dude and doesn’t want to chill in the chicken seat.... he keeps struggling to get out. Any tricks to keep him seated? I really think he needs off the leg for a little bit but he insists on limping around.

 

[Chickittymel]

I'm so sorry for your loss, and all your issues. But...you will have a lot of laughs, joys, tears, worries...having poultry. That's just the way it is. The laughs and joy far outweigh the tears and worry. And with every one, you will learn something. They all have their own story from start to finish. IMO, that's part of what makes chicken keeping so fascinating. Just keep going, you'll get through this.

Oh, I’m gonna keep going definitely. I just got four RIR chicks that, hopefully, one will be as sweet and amazing as Delilah was.

 

[chicknmania]

Just so you know, sometimes they work through lameness issues themselves. I've had a couple instances in the past where I kept them on forced rest for weeks, finally gave up and let them out, then they magically improved within days.

 

[Chickittymel]

Okay....James’s limo has gotten really bad....only now I think he has Bumblefoot on his good foot and I’m curious about some dark spots on his bad foot (on the toes). His feet were quite muddy early so I washed them as good as he would let me and then soaked his footsies in Epsom salt. But that dark spot on his “good” foot is definitely a wound of some sort. I tried to very gently scrap it off and it had a little blood around the edge. Poor James is having a rough few week.

Please help with a new round of advice for my poor buddy.