This morning my husband was in the exercise pen feeding the chickens. When he went in this chicken was up and fine. When he turned his back it squawked awful and when he turned around she was laying down. He thought she had broke her leg. She was favoring it but when he looked at it he said he didn't think it was broke. Nothing was bleeding. She was hurting though. Inside the barn's coop is a smaller coop up on cement blocks. It is where our hens lived when they were little. We isolated her from the rest and put her in there and shut the door so nobody could go in and bother her and she can't go out. She settled into one of the built in nesting boxes. We turned on the heat lamp in there for her to make her comfortable. I put a water bowl and mash and a bowl of veggie treats in for her and left her alone all day. When I went out to check on her she had got up and had somehow walked over to the other side and was making noise.......sort of like whining noises. She had eaten all her veggies and was working on her mash. I thought that was a good sign. Hubby just put the chickens to bed and said she was laying in one of the nesting boxes inside there resting. She's eating and drinking but when I saw her she sort of had that leg splayed out in front of her and when she stood up she tried to put weight on it but it hurt so she pulled it back up and was sort of hopping.
I'm so upset. Is there anything else we can do for her? Any ideas what in the world could have happened to her? There was nothing she could have got hurt on. The exercise pen is covered in a foot of leaves. It's just strange.
Thanks for any help.
Brenda
My hen is hurt. Can you help me?
It sounds like you are doing everything right. Let her rest tonight and look in again in the morning. Partial leg paralysis can be a sign of Marek's disease--but that wouldn't happen suddenly.
Let us know how she does.
Marek's wouldn't cause pain. It definately sounds like and injury. If you can't feel a break or any grating noise in her leg, it may just be a strain or a popped joint. You are doing everything right for her and will just have to wait and see.
I agree with the injury theory, especially when you say that she squawked when something happened. I wonder if she slipped on damp leaves and sort of did the chicken-splits or something like that? Have you felt up and down her leg joints and then at the "hip" where the leg meets the body? Are both sides normal? Any swelling? Is there a spot that when you press there, it seems like she struggles more (i.e. indicating pain)? That might help you isolate whether it is a foot/leg/hip injury.
For the record, I had a one-legged chicken for quite some time who managed just fine. They are quite adaptable once the pain subsides. She will probably be fine unless there is a lot of internal bleeding or something like that.
You may be right. She may have done the splits or something. Hubby said she was fine and walking towards the door of the outdoor run. She had just walked through the door to the outside. His back was to her and he heard her squawk loudly and when he turned around she was laying there with her leg splayed out in front of her. She wouldn't move. He picked her up and put her inside the barn and came and got me. I then had him put her in the little coop inside the bigger coop so she'd be by herself and we put the heat lamp on in there with food and water. I didn't really feel anything yet. I was afraid of hurting her more. Tomorrow we'll get her outside on the picnic table in the sunlight and do a better exam of her leg. I hope it's just a sprain. She wasn't bleeding. I know that much.
Thank you everyone for the comments and advice. I really need to put together a chicken emergency kit and learn some chicken first aid. This is my first flock and I really don't know what to do to take care of injuries etc.
Update:
Today I made up my mind that I was going to try to set her leg and bandage it. We got her out of her little coop and took her into the bunkhouse and put her on the bed. I looked her alll over and I couldn't tell where it was broke. She was so good and never squawked or try to peck me. She is so docile. She still won't stand on that leg and mostly stays squatting down. She did lay an egg and she's eating and drinking. I couldn't stand it any more so I called the vet and he told me to bring her in. He's an old country vet who raises chickens himself and sees farm animals. He said the leg was broke up high above her knee or whatever it's called. He said it's in the muscle and it would heal on it's own. He said I'm doing everything right and to keep her isolated and just let it mend by itself. He said she was a good looking bird and looked very healthy. He only charged me $10. It was worth that for my peace of mind. I told the receptionist not to laugh or tease me but I got it anyway. She was telling me I should pluck her up and fix her for dinner. ha ha ha He did say to be sure she got plenty of oyster shell for the extra calcium so the bone would heal strong. I stopped at the feed supply store and bought a bag of it. I put some in with her laying mash. She's getting extra treats like apple smeared with peanut butter with sunflower kernals on top. :) She's nice and cozy in her own coop with a heat lamp on in there to keep her warm.
She was so quiet. I had her in an open box in the back seat with the heater on back there. She never made one sound all the way to the vets and then back home. She is the quietest bird and so cooperative. She laid on the exam table and let the vet do his exam. She never even looked stressed out or anything like you'd think. He said she wasn't in much pain now since it's been a couple days. I held her today. It was the first time I've ever picked up a bird and held it. I've always been sort of afraid of them but no more.
I'm so relieved to hear the update. Sounds like she is on the mend and I'm glad it's a break and not some kind of neurosis or something that would be not treatable. I wonder how she managed to break it in the first place. Maybe something happened to fracture it before, and then something about the way she moved caused the fractured point to be stressed and break. Poor girl. I am so glad she is getting such good treatment from you. My hens just LOVE cottage cheese and that has a lot of calcium in it so you might want to try giving her some of that too, for variety! ;-)
Great job on taking such good care of your hen! So many people wouldn't be bothered to do it.
Claire
Hi Claire, that is a great idea about the cottage cheese. I might just run up to the store and buy her some. :) The one thing I forgot to ask the vet was how long I should keep her in isolation/confinement? I guess I should call back and ask. I know with humans it usually takes six or eight weeks for a broken leg to heal. I wonder how long for a chicken?
Brenda
I think you'll know from when she starts to walk normally. She will tell you herself when she is ready!
Try not to get her too fat! She's making out like a pasha! Becoming a blubber butt will interfere with healing... and an imbalance of calcium will, too. Too much calcium is as bad as too little... it can cause an imbalance in the other minerals needed to knit the bone... I'd keep her on her regular diet and put the oyster shell to the side so she can eat it separately.
So glad it'll heal fine on its own. =0)
Very good advice Jay. Thanks! I guess I feel so sorry for her I'm going overboard on the treats. Tonight I made up a bowl with some greens and part of a diced up apple and other veggies. I'll do as you suggest and just give her layer mash with a little extra oystershell............and maybe just a tiny bit of greens like spinach or celery. I don't want her healing to be impeded in any way.
Will she be OK in isolation the whole time or do you think I should take her outside once a day just to get some fresh air and a change of scenery? I don't want her to get depressed.
Poor thing, it's hard when one of your animals get's hurt or is sick. You just feel so responsible, that you have to help them. Oh and by the way, the never holding a chicken before, lol. Mine jump on every visitor's lap, sort of checking out the cut of their jib. If they pass muster, they will pick at their buttons.
LOL Elleisn. Mine keep pecking at the zipper on my coat. They won't leave it alone. Maybe that's normal behavior. They are so funny. I'm glad they got to free range today. If we get all the snow they're predicting they won't get to do much. Do you all let yours out in the snow or keep them in their runs?
It's below zero today, and for about the last week, hasn't gotten much above it. And if we don't have snow deeper than they are, they don't seem to mind mind so much. . It's supposed to get to the 40's by the weekend, so it should be much less hectic. They will finally get to go outside and play. But I don't let them out when it's this cold.
I think plenty of greens are fine since that is what a chicken would eat in the "wild" anyway. They are not high calorie or high fat, and have plenty of nutrients. I'd just be gentle on the "treats" like the peanut butter which is very calorie dense, and the cottage cheese in moderation.
OK. Thanks for clarifying that. Hubby and I eat salad daily so I always have plenty of veggies on hand and can and will share.
Loon I'm happy for you, happy she will heal, and happy you held her! after she heals, you'll have a shadow every time you go out there. :)
Thanks. I pretty much have a dozen shawdows now. Those chickens are so nosey and all come running at you when you come out there. I know all of you seem to know your chickens and can tell them apart. I can't. I mean, I know the rhode island reds and the golden comets but I can't identify any of them individually. They all look alike............except for "Whitey". She was my one free fancy chicken and the only one of her breed. :) If this hen winds up with a limp I'll be able to tell her apart from the rest of them.
If you want you can always band their legs - I use different colors of zip ties. Then you can tell them apart while you are learning to distinguish them by their personalities and other characteristics. And then also you can name them - great fun.
Just make sure that you either wait till they are fully grown before you put on the zip ties--or be ready to check the zip ties regularly, especially if the chickens are feather legged---I know from experience it can be easy to forget until the ties are cutting into their legs....
Thanks for the suggestion but I am not sure it's important I be able to tell them apart. I pretty much call most of them chickie. :) Of course if this hurt hen turns out to limp I'll be able to tell who she is.
We lost our power. The house is on generator but the barn is not so they're all in the dark out there. We'll have to go out and check on their water in case it's freezing. The weather is real bad here. All the schools are closed. Glad the chickens have an indoor coop and a covered run to go out into if they need some fresh air.
Its so nice to hear about peaple that take such good care of there animals,and its even nicer to have a country vet that only charges 10.00 dollars!!not many of them around anymore.
I love my vet. Actually it's a father/son operation. On Wednesdays they go out on calls to farms to see cows and horses etc. I had a dog have an emergency when they were out doing farm runs. I called him on his cell phone and he said to head into the office right away and he'd meet me there. He opened the office and operated on my dog right away. She had bladder stones. He is very good. Both of them are. We are lucky to have them. When we lived in the city downstate we paid through the nose for vet care.
Hubby went out to the barn to take care of the chickens and barn kittens. Everyone is doing good. The hurt chicken had eaten all her veggies and half her mash and was trying to stand up even. She's doing good. The barn cats ran out the door when he opened it. The stopped dead in their tracks in the snow and made a bee line back into the barn. They never seen snow before. The chickens are staying in their run today. We'll give them some alfalfa to eat for greens and they'll be fine. I hope the power comes back on before nightfall. Snow seems to be melting into slush.
So how's "Gimpy the tilted chicken" doing these days? Sounds like you got a good program sorted out for her. I sure hope your power's come back on.
Hi and thanks for asking about "Henrietta" which is what we call her now. The vet's office needed a name for their files. She has to stay in confinement for 4-6 weeks according to the vet. She is doing really good. She can stand up now but still favors that leg and sort of hops around. She has enough room in her private coop to stand and move around a little bit but she can't over-do it in the space she's in. We changed the pine shavings in her coop yesterday. I think she's going to be fine in about another 4 or 5 weeks. We are giving her a little extra oyster shell and a treat of cottage cheese. We want her bones to knit back together strong. She's so sweet and docile. The only bad part about being in confinement is we don't have a heater on her water bowl so it freezes. We have to run fresh water out to her several times a day. Wouldn't you know it we're having super cold temperatures. It was in the teens last night. She has a nice deep litter of pine shavings to nestle down into and her coop is up off the floor on an inside wall in the middle of the barn. She's out of any drafts plus she has her own red heater lamp on in there.
We're keeping the other 11 hens in their runs. There is no real need to let them try to free range since the ground is frozen and covered with snow. They have a foot of dried leaves in their run and plenty of room to fly/run around and scratch. We put bales of alfalfa in there along with extra greens and fruit. They have to eat fast though or their treats will freeze. If "I" were them, I'd stay inside the barn on my perch out of the wind but they seem to prefer to be outside in their run or perched up on their ladder. I guess their feathers keep them nice and warm.
Henrietta's a much nicer name than Gimpy the tilted chicken... LOL.
I've given up trying to figure out what animals like... I just give them options and wonder at their choices... for one, I would never lay down and take a nap in the snow like my donkeys do...
LOL
Well, do you give your donkeys a choice? Maybe they're sleepy.
Oh, they have nice shaving padded run-in stalls, but seem to prefer the sun and snow...
Update:
I thought I'd post an update. It's been six weeks since my hen broke her leg. We had kept her in confinement inside the barn coop inside another smaller coop by herself. We let her out one day short of her six weeks. She was so happy to be with her friends again. She has a slight limp but I'm hoping in time as she's able to walk around more and exercise it the limp might go away. She's happily eating and laying eggs and doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. The other hens seemed happy to have her rejoin the flock.
I guess chickens are more risilent than they look. I'm just glad she is OK.
Excellent news! Thanks for the update. I love the good news stories!
I spelled resilient wrong. :)