Suspected leg injury on big hen thanks to big gate landing on her!!

[MommaOrp]

My gorgeous most treasured black orp hen has just had a crash landing with a gate taken off its hinges! i came out back to find her laying squished underneath it!, i removed said gate and she jumped up in a flash however, her right leg appears to be injured, there are no external wounds, the leg feels warm but she is holding it limp and not moving it (she's dragging it along the floor), she can grip my hand with it a little though. Does you peeps reckon its broken? i can't feel correctly (i'm no vet) but it seems near on normal, I don't presume it to be broken but the dragging effect worries my paranoid mind!! Advice much appreciated! btw i have quarantined her already.

 

[dawg53]

It's best you keep her quarantined, she will need alot of rest and relaxation for her leg to heal. Trying to stand and move around on it could further injure it worse. You can buy vitamin B complex tablets at a pharmacy, crush a few into powder and sprinkle it into her feed. It might help her heal quicker. Leg injuries take time to heal. I've seen them heal within a weeks time, some takes months to heal. I had one hen whose leg never healed after 2 months of R&R in a cage. I put her in a small outside pen and she was able to hobble around on one leg and did just fine, she even laid an egg almost daily. I couldnt put her in with the others, they picked on her badly. Provide your hen feed and freshwater while she's in quarantine and hopefully she'll heal soon. Good luck.

 

[MommaOrp]

Thanks very much for getting back to me, i don't have very high hopes for her at the moment but i still believe there may be a possibility she can recover. Ive been to her this morning and she's desperate to use her leg and doesn't appear to be in much if any pain. when i feel the leg she doesn't flinch or retract so i'm hoping its just some bad bruising although she keeps dragging it around which i fear could make matters worse. My fingers are most definitely crossed!

 

[sheila3935]

I had a hen that I dont know what she did but she was doing what you describe. I put her in the hospital cage for a week. Gave her vitamins in her water and lots of treats scrambled eggs and such. Soaked her leg in epsom salt water (dont let her drink any of it) And she was fine. Although she did play it up a little later. I would walk in to check her and she would be standing on both legs but when she saw me she would lift the leg like mom it still hurts give me some more scrambled eggs.

 

[jjthink]

Poor baby. Ouchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I would add pain relief as I can't imagine it doesn't hurt like a demon. 1 baby aspirin (81 mg) crushed into one cup drinking water, changed to fresh batch at least once daily. Keep her somewhere where there's nothing to jump up onto or down off of, e.g. a nice big dog cage made all comfy with pine shavings and near her buddies, all of her creature comforts of food and water close at hand.

Do what you can to be sure there's no breaks though, because that would require more significant action (and quickly). If there are none, she should heal but it does take time.

JJ

 

[MommaOrp]

Ok guys, excellent advice, i will have another feel of her leg to be sure and grab some baby aspirin asap. i will keep you guys posted, thanks again.

 

[jjthink]

If you have regular aspirin (325 mg), just crush 5 of them per gallon of water or 2 1/2 per half gallon. If she's not eating/drinking, dunk bits of fruit (cut up grapes, cut up blueberries..whatever she likes) into the aspirin water and try to coax her to eat those via hand feeding so the aspirin can start to take the edge off her pain, which will make her more inclined to eat/drink.
JJ

 

[jjthink]

??How is she??

JJ