Slipped Tendon! No cure? What do I do?

[christykathy]

Hello All!
I'm a long-time reader/fan of BYC - and read with particular gusto when my 10 month old Delaware - named Eva - began limping heavily this April. (I think a stray cat got into my yard while my girls were out "helping me with the garden")

Anyway - after comparing her symptoms with those described in various threads - I am quite sure she had a slipped tendon. I did my best to treat it with optimal out-come and pulled her out of the coop into the house in a large rubbermaid tote turned chicken-bed to recuperate. She was clearly in a lot of pain - she mostly laid down and her injured leg shook/trembled when she stood/moved about. I talked to a few friends who are vets, PT's etc. (but don't live anywhere near me) - and started carefully trying to ice Eva's injured leg (tricky), and even gave her a little "water-therapy" in the kitchen sink. I also gave her half a baby-aspirin once a day for the pain ... these things really seemed to help her be more comfortable. She seemed to know that these things were for her good.

Eva was a terrified, anxious chick that seemed to have every possible problem - who then grew to be my biggest hen and "top dog" so to speak. She'd become less scared and more willing to interact with me - so I really didn't want to get rid of her just because she was injured - but I also didn't want to permanently add to my schedule all the chores that come with keeping a house-chicken clean and fresh smelling ... life's a little hectic for that. Also - Eva seemed a little lonely.

After about 10 days in her little rubbermaid tote - she started standing most of the time - was curious about the goings-on in the house. I would let her "watch movies" from her little tote-bed with me and my cat and dog (who were wonderful with Eva) - and she'd even purr and nap with us. SUPER cute.

I also started letting her limp around the yard with her old flock-mates while I worked in my garden. At first she avoided them and stayed with me or my dog. But eventually she tried to rejoin the flock.

5 weeks after her injury - and after about a week of her walking into the coop (I let the chickens out to free-range around my yard (but only when either I or my dog are out there with them now) and seemingly longing to be with her buddies again - I put her in the coop with the other 4 birds one evening - just after dusk. All the birds were nestled down for the night - but Eva seemed too scared - so I brought her back in.

Over the next 3 nights - a little earlier each successive night - I'd take her out to the coop again - and each night she seemed a little more comfortable. The last night - she seemed pretty comfortable - so I walked into the garden for a moment - when I came back she'd made herself a little nest - so I let her sleep out there.

The next two days the rest of the flock picked on her a little bit - but not awfully. She hung out by the door a bit - I think she was understandably confused. Also - I added two more waterers and two more feeding-areas - to minimize crowding/pressure when the girls to go eat or drink - which they seem invariably to want to do together - communally. I also modified the ramp into the coop - made it less steep.

Eva's been back with the flock in the coop and run for a month now - and seems to enjoy life as much as ever. She goes in and out of the coop and moves about the run pretty well. She still limps. She'll always limp I'm sure at this point. Sometimes her foot still trembles - so I'm inclined to think that she has some intermittent pain. But in spite of that she loves coming to me for treats as much as the other chickens - loves hanging out in the coop and run with the rest of the flock and is as happy a chicken as she's ever been.

Sorry this is so long - but I just wanted to give you all hope that there can be a happy life for your chickens if one of them should suffer a similar injury. I've learned my lesson the hard way and will no longer allow my flock to free-range without me or my border-collie being out there to protect them. Here are a couple of pictures of Eva during her recovery.



Eva - laying down and resting her injured left leg in my rubbermaid tote


Eva - enjoying her "water therapy" while watching the rest of her flock through the kitchen window



Eva - standing in her tote - about 4 weeks after her injury - "watching" Finding Nemo ... right before this picture - she was laying down - groggily purring. Pretty darn cute.

Thank you for this post. Most of what I have seen relates to chicks but I have a 4 month old in a very similar situation. This post gives me hope.