Sick young Brahma

[TexasSam]

You have me wondering about a racoon now. About a year ago we had a chick ripped through the wire. (This was before we added more wire). Tomorrow I'll have to look around to make sure the wire is all still secure. I have no idea how to reset a leg. I'm hoping my brother's girlfriend may be able to help me tomorrow. (She is a vet and although she doesn't know much about chickens, I'm sure she would do a better job than me with helping the chick) I hope the poor thing makes it through the night. It wasn't looking so good. Thank you for all of your help by the way!

You have a medicine dropper force feed her some water

 

[micstrachan]

I think it does seem like something tried to pull at her and injured her leg. She needs to rest in a calm, quiet, conmfortable place. Try to keep her hydrated, but don’t force fluids; you could aspirate her. You can put drops on the side of her beak and they will drop in causing her to swallow. She may benefit from sitting in a sling, depending on where the injury is. She also may have less pain with aspirin, but I don’t know the dosing. Please keep us posted.

 

[TexasSam]

I’m starting to wonder about snake just because there is only one puncture wound visible

 

[Mallory835]

She survived the night and perked up a lot! She is now able to stand for short periods at a time but she doesn't put weight on her foot. She seems much more alert and actually drank a good bit of water. She even got really vocal. (She wasn't making any noises at all before really) She is keeping the hurt foot curled when she stands on the other. I'm keeping her separated and hoping she keeps improving. I'll try to get a better look at her leg/foot today.

 

[Mallory835]

Im in New Orleans right outside the city. We don't really have many snakes around here besides a few garter ones. I have seen a lot of rats in our neighbors palm trees at night. I was thinking of a squirrel can get in the coop then a rat probably could too. I just don't know if it would attack a chick considering there was food in the run.

 

[TexasSam]

Im in New Orleans right outside the city. We don't really have many snakes around here besides a few garter ones. I have seen a lot of rats in our neighbors palm trees at night. I was thinking of a squirrel can get in the coop then a rat probably could too. I just don't know if it would attack a chick considering there was food in the run.

Yeah I’m not thinking a rat would be strong enough to do that rats tend to bruise more than anything

 

[TexasSam]

Glad she is feeling better keep us updated if you will

 

[Mallory835]

She is resting right now and I hate to keep disturbing her. She lays with the hurt leg stretched out beside her. When she tried to stand it just sort of dangles. When she was laying down she even kept pecking at parts of her leg. Should I try to put a splint or give her more time to see if it is just sore? She had come such a long way since yesterday.

 

[TexasSam]

She is resting right now and I hate to keep disturbing her. She lays with the hurt leg stretched out beside her. When she tried to stand it just sort of dangles. When she was laying down she even kept pecking at parts of her leg. Should I try to put a splint or give her more time to see if it is just sore? She had come such a long way since yesterday.

Maybe some aspirin or BC powder mixed in some water to help her get comfortable

 

[Mallory835]

I went off a little while today and when I came home the chick had actually jumped out the box I had her in! I cleaned her off with some warm water and kept her comfortable inside for most of the day. My other Brahma chick seemed to be looking for her so I took her close to the coop. They both instantly perked up and the injured chick stood up and started peeping. I set her up in a large clear bin with some shavings and put it inside the coop with the other chick. They were so excited to see one another and at first the other chick curled up against the bin. Later I found them both curled up inside the bin together and the injured one was finally eating tons! I decided to put the bin on its side so that they don't get hurt trying to get out. They both seemed much happier and the injured one seemed to be getting around a lot more even though it still isn't putting all its weight on the leg. I looked it over today and could not find any obvious break. I'm beginning to think it is possibly dislocated. Oh, and I know it probably isn't the culprit, but while I was outside by the coop a HUGE garter snake popped up next to the coop! I made my husband relocate it just to be on the safe side. I'm hoping the chick gets a little better now that it is eating and drinking well.