leedg Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Hi, im in need of some advice. One of our hybrids got her leg caught in a plastic dog dish that had a split in it. She was struggling frantically when i approached to try and free her, and managed to free herself. Afterwards she had a terrible limp in her right leg I checked her over and there was no obvious damage, so I hoped that she'd just twisted something. I spoke to a friend of mine who is much more experienced with chickens than I, and he advised me to isolate her in an old coop for 1 week to try and rest the leg, and then see how she was. if there was no improvement then consider putting her to sleep. Well today is a week gone, and i let her out with the rest of them as i needed to clean out the coop. Shes still limping fairly badly but seems quite happy. shes been laying every day, and was happily dustbathing and pecking round for food today when i let her out. she went to bed with the others and got herself onto the perch without a problem.. So im facing a dilema, what should I do? my partner is keen to just leave her be as she seems happy and hopefully her leg will heal some more, whereas my friend had previously advised that I should have her pts.. can anyone advise me please? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonetog Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 The fact that she's still laying suggests to me that she is not stressed at all. If she was stressed the first thing she'd do is stop laying, I don't think she should be put down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 Chickens do sometimes sprain or pull muscles, but if they are still limping after 48 hours or if they are unable to bear any weight on the leg at all, then I would recommend getting veterinary advice. If she is eating, drinking and pecking around etc, and laying, then it suggests that she is feeling ok and not in pain. The problem is that it may make it harder for her to maintain her place in the pecking order, but if she seems to have settled back in with the others then I would let things be; she might recover further, but a week is quite a long time to still be limping. I can't see any reason for dispatching a healthy bird who is not suffering, however, as long as she can do all the things a chicken would normally do including perching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfnirvana Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Hi, my chook Bess (Columbian Black tail) was walking down the cube ladder when Polly (a much larger White Star) did the same thing, barged her way through and ended landing on top of her. Bess subsequently had a limp for the rest of the day. After 2 days I took her to the vets who checked her over. Nothing broken, but there was a slight swelling at the top joint. He gave me some anti-inflamatory to syringe down her beak once a day for a week. This really helped. Her limp improved, but not completely gone, and seemed to get slightly worse at the end of the day, especially if she'd been out roaming around with the others. I was in the same dilema as you, should we PTS, as I hate seeing her in pain, but OH said to give her some more time as she is quite young. She was laying and the limp really didn't seem to be giving her too much problem apart from making her a little slower. I have to say after 4-5 weeks she was much better and and no longer limping. I am really pleased I waited. However, that was back in September, and I noticed the other day she was starting to limp again only very slightly, so I think this is going to be a recurring problem as one leg is probably going to have a weakness. If I were you and you have a good chicken vet, take her there and see if you can get some anti-inflamatories to aid the healing and also make sure nothing's broken. Then I'd give her a few more weeks and hopefully she will gradually improve. I have to say Bess is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order now! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 One of my girls caught her foot in the eglu run, and was limping for quite a while although nothing was broken or damaged. It took about 3 weeks to heal completely. As long as she is behaving normally I wouldn't consider having her PTS. If she deteriorates, I would take her to the vet to get it checked but, in the meantime, you could try putting arnica cream on the leg. It has anti-inflammatory properties, and is very good for bruising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leedg Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 thanks for your replies and advice. I decided to give her some time and see how she was. after a few days of being back with the rest of the girls she seems much better, her limp is much less noticeable. I dont think it can be bothering her too much, as shes running and jumping about, sitting on branches etc. shes still laying everyday, and is much improved from when she first injured it.. im just gonna keep an eye on her to make sure shes alright, but i think shes out of the woods... thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
