Single hen

[gladdycat]

As the proud 'mum' of four girls, I was upset to see Honey the Sussex holding her right wing awkwardly so it skimmed the ground.

 

There was no change the next day, so she was booked into the vets. After a thorough examination, i was told that her wing wasn't broken, but it had no movement in it, and could be muscular or ligaments. There was even a chance it could be something like gout, so I was told stop giving s"Ooops, word censored!"s to them so ther wouldn't be too much protein in their diet.

I was also given 5 syringes of anti-inflamitary drugs to give over 5 days.

 

Well, Honey has had all her anti-inflamitaries, and it's a week since her trip to the vets. There has been no change, in fact I had to trim her flight feathers on that wing to help try to stop her dragging it so much. ( Ihad suggested having her wing strapped up, but the vet dismissed this ) The longer this goes on the more it seems to affect her, she is starting to keep herself apart from the others some of the time, whereas before she was the 'head bird'. I don't know what to do for the best, any suggestions or advice would be welcome.

 

Thanks

[Egluntyne]

A friend of mine had a hen with a dislocated wing. She strapped it up somehow in a kind of figure of eight manner with a crepe bandage. She just placed the wing in its normal position and then applied the bandage and fastened it with a safety pin. I remember holding the hen for her whilst she put a fresh bandage on as it got a bit manky.

 

It was on for a couple of weeks and then it seemed OK.

 

It might be worth trying if all else fails. It might help the ligaments heal.

[gladdycat]

Yes, I thought that strapping it up might make sense, but like I say, the vet seemed to dismiss this idea totally.

 

I forgot to mention in my original post that the vet said if the wing didn't heal naturally, and if it was getting in her way, then he could do a partial amputation

I know that on the whole chickens don't nneed to use their wings as much as other birds, but it still seems so extreme, I'm not really sure I could put her through something like that.

 

I'm not really certain if the vet knew himself just exactly what is wrong with her! I'm wondering if I should try to get an opinion from another vet?

[Egluntyne]

I'm wondering if I should try to get an opinion from another vet?

 

I think if I were in your shoes, I would.

 

Apart from anything else, an amputation will be expensive, and no operation is totally without risk, whereas a crepe bandage and a safety pin will cost you no more than a couple of quid.