Stupid horse stepped on hens leg. What to do??

[CanadianCrower]

I just got home and my daughter informed me that the horse stepped on a hens leg. It's broken and bleeding. She's not putting weight on it and is holding it up. I have'nt looked closely because I am too mad right now and a little afraid to do it. What is the best course of action? How would I go about treating this? Can I treat it or should I put her down?

 

[Imp]

Here's some reading for you. Chickens can heal from broken legs.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/search.php?search_id=799670207

Good luck

Imp

 

[ranchhand]

Impster, the link is no good?

Anyway, to CanadianCrower, isolate the hen in a crate or cage tonight. Tomorrow, ascertain the real damage. If broken and bleeding, I'd either put her down or get her to a vet. Compound fractures are difficult to heal in chickens, though it can be done with a lot of extra care and patience.

Pardon me, please, for asking, but why does this make the horse "stupid"? Accidents happen to us all.

 

[Imp]

Sorry if the link is not working. It works for me. It is just a BYC search:

Keyword-Broken Leg

in Emergencies

in Topic only

There was a lot of hits, so much reading ahead.

Imp

 

[CanadianCrower]

Well, I have had time to take a deep breath and deal with this a bit. She seems to be putting a bit of weight on it sometimes now. She is in a crate and is eating and drinking.

Oh Ranchhand, I do tend to overreact Ren Hair The deal with it is that this same horse spooked on me and in doing so ran into me and broke MY leg quite severly a year and a bit ago. It has changed my life quite a bit so I think I maybe a bit sensitive to the horse/leg connection. I did go out an apologize to him for calling him names.

Thanks for the links, I'm going to check them out now.

 

[CanadianCrower]

Oh and can I give her long acting penicillin?

 

[Lofty Dreams]

I had one of my hen's leg got stepped on by a horse. I pushed the horse over, this one was lucky unlike my other one. The white Jersey giant escaped with a limp and a sore foot soon she was back to normal. The other Jersey got trampled by a pony or horse, I cried. Wish you luck with your hen.
Check the shank by felling

If a bone went through the skin take it to the vet or
kill it humanely
If It didn't
Option 1
• wrap the leg in some gauze and then vet wrap.
• Wrap it in a straight line in the standing form
• Separate her and keep her calm [ music/ darkness]
Option 2
• Measure shank and chop 2 popsicle sticks
• Stretch out your chickens leg and attach with vet wrap
• Change dressing 1-2 days
Option 3
• Find a bird vet [not very many]
Do
• Clean wounds
• Separate from your flock maybe killing your chicken

Resources
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080506195106AAAwwmm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_treat_a_chicken_with_a_broken_leg

 

[Marthainez]

I just got home and my daughter informed me that the horse stepped on a hens leg. It's broken and bleeding. She's not putting weight on it and is holding it up. I have'nt looked closely because I am too mad right now and a little afraid to do it. What is the best course of action? How would I go about treating this? Can I treat it or should I put her down?

 

[theoldchick]

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/fracture https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-treat-a-broken-leg.659231/

Good luck!

 

[50-45-1]

I dont believe a horses vision extends to the ground beneath there feet.
I'm sure it would not have done such a thing on purpose.
A good question for the hen would be why did she not get out of the way? She certainly could see the horse.
I once had a hen that roosted at night on my horses back in the stall. Something I did not appreciate when it came to brushing the crap off my horse.
Free ranging chickens get them selves in all kinds of trouble.
I hope your hen recovers and her leg is good as new.