Rooster Limping, not putting weight on 1 leg

[lkilkenny]

Help! Our rooster has no obvious injury to his leg but is limping and not using 1 leg much at all. He fought off a skunk last week (actually saved 4 out of our 7 hens from the foul, vicious creature), the limping didn't set in until 2 days later so not sure if its related or not. He still is eating/drinking, but seems uncomfortable and is not trying to chase off my boys when they go out to collect eggs...at what point do I really start to worry?

 

[dawg53]

Help! Our rooster has no obvious injury to his leg but is limping and not using 1 leg much at all. He fought off a skunk last week (actually saved 4 out of our 7 hens from the foul, vicious creature), the limping didn't set in until 2 days later so not sure if its related or not. He still is eating/drinking, but seems uncomfortable and is not trying to chase off my boys when they go out to collect eggs...at what point do I really start to worry?

Check the bottom of his foot for a round dark in color scab, it could be bumblefoot and minor surgery will be required. If it's not bumblefoot, he mightve jumped down from a high roost or other high place and pulled a ligament or tendon. If this is the case, you're going to have to put him in a cage or crate for extended rest and relaxation. Provide him with feed and water. You want him caged because if he's out chasing hens, scratching dirt etc...he could cause worse injury to his leg. You can add vitamin B complex to his feed if you wish. It may or may not help speed up the healing process, depends how bad the injury is. You can buy it at any pharmacy, crush a few tablets into powder and sprinkle it on his feed. Do this for about 5 days, then release him and see if he can walk. If not, cage him again for a week and vitamin B complex added to his feed again. Then let him out again and see if there's improvement. If not, stop the vitamin B complex and keep him caged for 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, leg injuries take TIME to heal. It could be a few days, a week, a month or two, or never. He might go ballistic without seeing his hens. You can keep him in the cage out in the pen where he can see his hens if you want.
I've successfully treated hens in this manner 90% of the time. Most hens are calm when caged. However, my success rate with roosters arnt very good and ended up having to cull them. They can get too hyper without staying with the hens, injuring themselves further. It then becomes a quality of life issue and a tough decision has to be made. You can also lower your roosts in the coop and eliminate any other high places that birds can jump down from. I'd rather deal with bumblefoot. Good luck.