Rooster with injured leg - ideas/advice?

[dreamofwinter]

Hi all - my three cockerels, who had lived peacefully til now, had a big fight. I blame avian flu lockdown combined with youth and spring hormones. In the course of the fight the gentlest of the three, a young Dark Brahma named Janet, suffered a leg injury of some kind in addition to the usual face cuts/scrapes.
He's been recovering in a pet playpen on my mud porch, and is feeling better in general - except he still won't put weight on his leg.

He stands all day on the good leg, but will tentatively touch the bad one down in order to hop to a new location. He also stretches the bad leg forward as if he's feeling for something. He cannot curl the toes of the bad foot or grip anything with it.

I have not found any obvious swelling anywhere along the leg. No signs of bumblefoot or other external injury. We're giving him half a baby aspirin daily for pain. He's eating and drinking fine and generally is cheerful.

Any thoughts what this could be? I'm happy to keep him on the porch or even in the house as long as he needs, I just want to be sure I'm not failing to do something that would help, like wrapping the foot.

I've rehomed my other two cockerels, so once Janet is recovered he won't have any competition in the flock.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I wonder if he could have suffered an injury to his brain, spinal cord or possibly has a nerve that's inflamed? Poor guy. Have you checked his hips? No swelling or heat coming anywhere from his hip to his toes? Are you giving vitamins? I remember one of my roosters was high stepping and @Eggcessive mentioned a vitamin therapy. Hopefully she'll chime in or anyone that knows more about this will. How long ago did the injuries occur?
@LaFleche is another one that's good with this type of thing. We're really lucky to have so many knowledgeable folks here that are always so helpful. I'll start with tagging these two.

 

[LaFleche]

When exactly did the fight happen? How long has he been in this condition? Could you post some pictures for us to see his posture?

Rooster fights can lead to severe injuries, especially for young heavy cockerels that are somewhat clumsy and bear heavy weight on their still vulnerable bones.
I have seen it happen with my own roosters/cockerels and one beautiful big Blue Copper French Marans had to be put down after suffering a pelvic fracture which left him unable to use his leg.

But in your case it could be swelling from inner bruising pressuring on the nerve, a tendon rupture, slipped tendon, dislocated femur etc. All of which would need immediate attention.

To determine ecxactly what you are dealing with, I would advise to get some x-rays done ASAP, as for instance, a dislocated femur needs to be repositioned as early as possible, the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes and the recovery will take much longer.

And - just as @HeatherKellyB suggested - adding some rooster booster or other supplements containing vitamin B complex and E to his drinking water will help with nerve and tissue damage.


EDIT: You could set him up in a sling chair for a few hours per day to allow for some rest with feed and water right within his reach. Here are some examples:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threadloom/search?query=sling+chair&tab=619

 

[dreamofwinter]

The fight was two weeks ago. He's showing incremental improvement, and can move the leg up, down, forward etc. He can't "make a fist" with his foot. No swelling or heat anywhere I can find along the limb. How do I check his hips - is there a specific test I should be doing? Based on where the function stops I'm tending to think the injury is in his foot itself, as all the other joints work normally, though nerve swelling/damage could be it too.

I'm unfortunately in an area with no poultry veterinarians, so no access to xrays. Frustrating, but the price I pay for living in a rural area of Maine.

He does have food and water in his immediate reach, and he moves around his hospital pen during the day. I do see him lying down resting as well as standing. I had given vitamins/electrolytes immediately after the injuries but stopped - I'll restart that, as well. His appetite is good and he's happy to sit on the couch or to go outside and graze in a patch of grass when it's sunny. He's welcome to live his life as a house rooster - he has an amazing personality - but I want to give him the best chance at a comfortable life. I'll have a look at the sling chair plans too!

Thank you both for the help! I'll try to get some photos today.

 

[Eggcessive]

If he has a sprain, it might get better with rest, but it could take weeks. If he has nerve damage or a fracture, it may or may not get better. If he would tolerate a chicken sling, to get him upright, in front of feed and water, and to keep him cleaner, that might be a good thing to try. Some chickens will fight to get out of them, and can get injured. They are easily made with large Rubbermaid tubs, a sturdy cloth or towel with 3 holes, and 4 binder clips. Here is a good link with designs of chicken slings and a video:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[dreamofwinter]

Fortunately he does seem to be improving, if slowly. Today he's able to curl the foot very slightly. He's also resting weight on it, which is new.
I got a few photos, but not sure whether they're any help. They give a pretty good idea of his current range of self-motion.

He's enough of a cinnamon roll that he probably wouldn't fight the sling, but he does enjoy being able to move from one side of his pen to the other. I'll keep it in mind for sure.

 

[dreamofwinter]

I always appreciate when people update with outcomes on their injured birds - so I'll do that here! Janet is still on the mend.

His injured foot was just dangling, floppy and useless, for long enough that I started making plans to let him go. He hated being in a sling and sleeping on the ground was beginning to cause a keel cyst. The very next day (as if he'd heard me! "I'm not dead yet!!") - about a month ago - he began trying to bear weight on it. He now uses it when he hops, putting it down first and then taking a big, limping step. He can also grip my finger with the toes. We do physical therapy daily, where I first ask him to grip my finger; and then I pick him up, supporting his weight, and have him place the injured foot flat on the ground and bear the tiniest fraction of weight. We do this once a day and he HATES it but it's helping! He's been living happily on my mud porch at night and free-ranging during the day. In the last week he's begun roosting on the futon rather than on the ground.

At this point the biggest issue is re-integrating him. The hens, accustomed to their bachelorette lifestyle, will pick fights with him if they're out free ranging with him. He'll stand up to the lower-ranked hens but runs away from Pepper and Blaze, my boss girls. Once he's fully weight bearing I have hopes he'll establish his place with them as well and return as flock rooster. He's such a good boy - even injured he keeps an eye out for them, alarming for overhead predators and watching for ground-based dangers. Last night we had a fox come through the yard, thankfully after all were put away, and he called the alarm from his perch on the futon. GOOD BOY.

Today's task is figuring out how to make a place for him inside the electric fence so that he can be outside and safe if (when) the fox returns.

All of which is to say - birds are tough and sometimes it takes time. If I had this all to do again I'd have bitten the bullet and driven him 2.5 hours to the closest poultry vet. He's a really good boy and it would have been well worth the time and money. I still don't know whether it was a break in his foot or lower leg, or nerve damage, but based on the length of recovery (almost 3 months and still on the mend) I suspect nerves were involved. I'm happy he's getting well.

 

[dreamofwinter]

I always appreciate when people update their health issue posts! So here's the latest on Janet and his leg injury.

He still has a heavy limp but gets around really well. The injured leg twists inward somewhat, leading me to believe there was indeed a break somewhere very high up. Hindsight is 20/20 and in the same situation I would probably have found a way to get him to the nearest avian vet (2.5 hours each way); however, I'm pleased with his low-intervention recovery.

He's regained all the weight he lost while recovering and has also molted and regrown number of feathers. Feeding him grower crumbles has helped him with this! He still sleeps on the mud porch at night but has started living with the hens and ducks during the day. Reintegration went really well, probably because my broody had hatched two chicks two weeks earlier and beat the heck out of the boss hen. Everyone has been very unwilling to pick on each other since then! So Janet had one minor confrontation with the lead hen, no major battle, and everyone is good now. Except that he has some kind of vendetta against one of my six ducks and will occasionally chase her around and make her scream. And, he actually got my Brahma hen to squat and allow him to try to mount her! He didn't succeed, but he's working on it.

He still will not roost and screams and fights if we try to set him on any kind of roost or perch, so he still has some ways to go. But all in all, I think the lesson here is that time is a great healer, if you can afford it. Janet was injured in mid March, so he's been on the mend close to five months now!

 

[Eggcessive]

So happy to hear that Janet the rooster is doing well and healing. Thank you for updating this thread.