[ellied]

I am a bad person I damaged one of the chickens

I was turning some big logs over in the pen and they were dashing in to get worms etc, it's a regular game.. only one bird got a leg caught under the falling log and she's moving about with one leg held up, clearly a bit shocked as am I

I can't feel or see an obvious break but there is  clearly bruising and the scales are damaged slightly on the surface.  I managed to catch her which is a sign of the problem, and both feet do curl around my fingers but the right not as strong as the left.

I've put the rest into the main pen and left her in the extension with water and mixed corn to recover from the shock, and plan to pop her in the coop tonight and be ready to separate them again in the morning if she's not weightbearing on it by then..

Is there anything I can do to help her recover more easily or do hens drop like sheep under such circumstances?   I feel terrible, she is a BHWT bird here since last autumn and a good layer.  I've never damaged a chicken before  have I likely killed her too? 

[jaykay]

You are not a bad person, don't beat yourself up, it happens occasionally. Mine run under my feet so much at 'afternoon corn time' that sometimes I stand on one's foot  If you were bad you wouldn't care 

If no break and both feet operational it sounds like it's bruised, which is how our leg would be if a log hit our shin I suppose. So she'll be fine.

To appease your conscience you can make her oat porridge with raisins in, made with warm milk, mix in a bit of Poultry Spice. She will love you for ever more and will jumping under your feet/logs to get further supplies 

[chrismahon]

Sounds like a bit of bruising Ellied or there may be a fracture. We've just been through this with Arnold, our only remaining Blue Laced Wyandotte. He got caught in some poorly maintained fencing. We brought him in and limited his movement for two weeks. He had anti-inflammatory which helped as he got worse the next day, presumably the injured area swelled. We also put Arnica gell on the knee joint. Last time we had a hip injury it took 6 weeks to recover. He has slight grip and can stand on it momentarily, but I am pretty sure he's damaged something permanently. However he still manages to tread his girls by flapping one wing to keep his balance! He had lots of treats when he was inside -chopped egg, grapes, tomatoes.

[Mammyshaz]

These things happen from time to time. Try not to worry too much 
I agree it sounds badly bruised. There doesnt sound like bone damage if she can still Move her toes to curl around your finger. It will just take a bit of time to get back to normal, as we would ourselves. Rest and TLC just as you are doing 

[ellied]

Thanks.  I had put some poultry spice in some warm layers pellet mash and a few squishy berries on top for her last night but she was staying well away from me so I left it and left her to sit rather than stress her more, and she did eventually hop over and sit by it and fill her crop which was a relief.

When I opened the gate at dusk she all but flew in the coop without hesitation, crash landed and gradually righted herself so I know she wanted to be in there with the rest.  This morning at 430 she wasn't for coming out but had settled in the middle perch and by 7 she'd come out herself and was sitting in a corner.  I've left her with the rest but she's in the bit they always have access to and they mostly forage in the extension when it's open so I let them have both and she's got peace and proximity to food and water.  She stands on one leg and balances with wingtips, I can hardly see the carried leg it's so high in the feathers but I imagine the bruising has come out so I'm trying not to worry that there's a break further up than I could see..

I would be interested in details of the anti-inflammatories used for poultry - I have danilon for lame ponies but doubt that'd be easy to administer even if appropriate for hens and may have arnica gel which is a good idea as I was trying to work out if I could hide arnica tablets in the pellets but if there's something specific made easy to give hens and the right kind of dosage size I'd be delighted to go and find some. 

[jaykay]

Well you can use metacam or Rimadyl, probably the cat one at an appropriate dose for the weight of the bird. People who keep parrots and so on have both prescribed by vets so I've always reckoned it was ok for my birds if necessary too. And my cat's on it so there's always some here.

A 15ml bottle is about £12 I think and a hen would need maybe 0.2 ml a day for a few days - just a ballpark figure, you'd need to read the label and weigh her.

Alternatively, the vet might be prepared to give her (or give you to give her) a metacam injection, which they reckon lasts 2-3 days.

[northfifeduckling]

Hi Ellie,
don't feel bad. These things happen though they are distressing for a bit. I always worry that I catch one of the stupid hens with the garden fork or spade when out there digging! One of my girls managed to get a chick's foot in the door when closing the eglu. I thought that was it or it would end up deformed but it's completely normal now. wWe also had a duck that I think broke or at least badly sprained her leg (just after me  ) and we isolated her for a few months so she would not run with the others. Her foot seemsalmost back to normal now, just a bit of a limp (just like myself  ). Isolation is my recommendation, a wee rabbit hutch with a run...

[chrismahon]

We gave Arnold Metacam for 10 days. It's called Loxicom now, but is exactly the same stuff. Two drops per Kg bodyweight initially followed by one drop per Kg next day and every day after.