Rooster with a broken leg

[holisticliving]

Sending positive waves for you and your boy! Thank you for taking care of him.

Let us know how he does.

Thanks Sally! He is doing okay though frustrated that he can't get out with the hens. We checked the splint today to make sure it wasn't irritating his skin, and it seems fine - plenty of feathers underneath to cushion it. The leg is still dangling loosely and he's not resting weight on it yet, but he's definitely feeling better as he's back to his randy old self, and constantly trying to coax the hens over near his crate. Every time I have to take him out of his crate I have to be careful where I set him down or he will hop over and try to jump on the hens as soon as my back is turned! Meanwhile, the hens have turned into huge brats in the past few days without him available to keep them in line... They are constantly fighting and picking on each other. These chickens be crazy!

 

[holisticliving]

A little update on our roo... 4 1/2 weeks now, and he's coming along well! The first couple of weeks were rough, but he started putting a little weight on the foot after 2 weeks, and now he's up to walking (hobbling) around on both feet all the time. It seems okay, except it has definitely healed with the foot turned inwards a bit... Hopefully this will be okay long-term?

I am trying to start letting him out for a little bit each day by himself to walk around and strengthen the leg, but he does NOT like to walk in the snow! So it has been hard to get him to move around much. I really want him to get some strength back in the leg before I re-introduce him to the hens, as I know he will go nuts and probably put a lot of stress on it! He's been a little crotchety lately and I think he's frustrated and a little depressed at being separated so long...

We re-adjusted the splint yesterday (it was sliding down his leg), and plan to remove it next weekend and just wrap the leg in VetWrap to give it a little extra support. After that, I plan to let him out with the hens for just a little bit at a time so he doesn't injure himself trying to mate 100 times a day! I also think we will separate him at night and keep him in his crate for a while longer as I don't want him jumping/falling off the roost before it is totally healed. I'm just wondering how long until it's safe for him to go back to normal??

Here's a pic of our handsome fellow! This was taken a couple of weeks ago, when he was still holding his foot up most of the time...

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad to hear that he seems to be healing. It would be hard to predict how quickly he can go back to his normal activities with the flock. Roosters don’t always heal as well from leg injuries or fractures as hens do. We don’t usually xray their bones to see how well they heal. Placing him back with the flock in the dog crate inside the coop would be good for him. Let us know how he does in the next couple of weeks.

 

[holisticliving]

Hi, I know it has been a while, but for those of you who were so kind as to reply and provide your guidance, suggestions, and well-wishes, I just wanted to let you know that our dear roo (Josh) is doing great! My husband and I were just talking the other day about how glad we were that we didn't have him put to sleep... He is randy and rambunctious as ever now, back to his old life (although with much lower roosts, now!), and having a great time.

He walks with a very pronounced limp and I suppose that will never go away, but hopefully he won't have any more pain, although arthritis I guess is a possibility as he gets older... I jokingly call him Tigger when he runs, as he kind of leaps and bounds across the ground when he goes fast (and he can go FAST) - it's so funny to watch! He has got the mating down pat again now (it was a little rough to start with), and has no trouble getting around anywhere. I'm so happy as he's such a good rooster, and takes such good care looking out for his ladies!

It's awesome to see him enjoying life and being a normal rooster, so I'm so glad we gave him a chance and put in the time and effort to nurse him back to health. If anyone else has a similar accident, don't believe the vet when they tell you "it won't heal by itself"!

Thanks for all the well-wishes and helpful tips!

Rose.

 

[RMedina1965]

Hi, I'm new to posting here, though I've been reading this forum for a while now, and it's always so helpful! Now I'm looking for a bit of guidance/support, as our beautiful Buckeye rooster broke his leg somehow this past weekend. We were away when it happened, and our neighbor was tending the chickens and notified me a few days ago that our rooster was favoring his left leg. He said he was getting around okay and eating fine, but kept holding his foot up. I wasn't too worried, as he sprained his ankle or foot back in the fall and it just took a couple of weeks to heal, so I figured it was something similar.

However, I was horrified when we got back and I saw him for the first time... He couldn't seem to move the foot at all, and was trying to get around by hopping on the other leg, which is difficult as he's rather large and heavy. I picked him up and moved the leg around and it almost felt detached - it is just hanging there loosely. We took him to the vet, and they did an x-ray and said he has a fractured tibia - maybe more than one fracture. (There is no outside indication - i.e. skin is not broken, thank goodness.) He gave us 3 options: 1.) Surgery to implant a metal pin, at the cost of $1,000 - $1,500(!!!!), 2.) Amputation, at a cost of $750-$1,000(!!!), or 3.) Euthanization.

We opted for none of those options - at least not yet, and took him home, where I attempted to apply a makeshift splint (with Vetwrap and a piece of wood). However, since the break is so high up on his leg (above the knee), it's kind of hard to wrap it, and there's not really any way to "set" it or make sure the bones are lined up right... We also got a dog crate so that he can still see the hens (he freaks out if he can't), but won't be able to move around too much.

I'm so sad for our sweet roo! He's such an awesome rooster who takes great care of his hens and he's only 8 months old... He is eating fine so far and seems okay otherwise. I don't know what else to do for him, except give him pain meds and try to keep him off the leg as much as possible? Just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions or if anyone has similar experiences to share that might help?

Rose.

Hi RoseRose here, i have a rooster that i think both legs are sprang and it is breaking my heart. I feel you, no money to take to the vet, so i watch a YouTube video, so im hoping that the plint will work. Keep us posted, i will let you know how red is doing as well, he is a cuban rooster