injured silkie

[patricia]

Hi all

I have a very amorous silkie boy, and he has picked his favourite hen, but I think he has hurt her,She was limping, but I couldnt find anything wrong she did yelp when I had a look round, but although her leg was abviously not right, she appeared ok. I put her in one of my stables to give her a rest. she seemed to be getting on ok, even laying, but Ihave let her out in the field this afternoon, and the leg appears non functioning at all. She is very bright in herself, and was quite happy hopping about, rumaging around. Can anyone help

 

[karminski]

sounds like there could be a break somewhere or shes badly twisted the hip area { i assume they have those } 05 ,is she putting any weight onto it at all ? i have had limping chickens but after a few days to a week they seem to come fine .one of my bantams picked on apretty large bird and she came of worse with a limp but is fine now .

 

[chrismahon]

Well if it was a break Patricia I wouldn't expect her to be happy at all. Sounds like a bad knee joint sprain or more likely damage to her hip and she's going to have to rest it -or avoid any risk of more damage. No jumping off perches or climbing steps for her and certainly no cockerel. If she is away from the others for more than a day she could be attacked as an intruder -some hens have very short memories! So best bet is to separate the cockerel. One of our Oprpingtons damaged her hip and it took 4 weeks before she stopped limping.

 

[Chuck]

Limping does set in for reasons which we often don't discover and as they come, they go. As Chris says, keep her away from the male until she's well and truly better. Males can harm the hens but I don't think they could cause a fracture.

 

[patricia]

Thankyou for replying, my girl isnt putting any weight on the leg,this happened before christmas, and as you have all kindly advised rest would be good for her, and this was my thoughts, hence putting her in a stable to rest, the leg just hangs there. No sure what to do now really

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Patricia. Sounds like the nerves to the leg have been injured. Could try the vet for anti-inflammatories or just wait. If its happened before it may be a long term weakness has now developed.

 

[pennyblack chooks]

I'd be taking her to a vet Patricia. Hopefully you have one that can help with chickens, but if her leg is 'hanging' then any vet should be able to give a very good insight into what it is. I take the view that if something doesn't look right, then it most likely isn't and needs some professional input.

I learned my lesson with Tilly who when I bought her back in Feb last year had a slightly twisted toe on one claw. She had been kept on a wire floor in the coop with the other young birds all aged about 12 weeks. It wasn't a big twist but it was odd that one of her toes did not look as straight and neat as the others. I bought her anyway. I didn't query it with a vet as she gave no sign of a problem by walking with an odd gait or limping and I figured it would just sort itself out. She seemed very happy in herself scratching about the garden and doing all the things chickens like to do. Still there has been no sign of pain, or awkwardness or anything that gives me concern about pain she might be feeling BUT where the twist is is now more noticeable and there is a small amount of swelling. This became obvious back in early November so I took her to the vet to get another opinion. Well, her diagnosis of a slight fracture at some point in the past (perhaps she caught it in the wire?) was bad enough but then I was told Tilly now has arthritic changes in the joint - hence the swelling - I knew I had made a mistake assuming that becasue she was happy in herself that everything would be fine in the end. At some point she may well need regular dosing with metacam - if there is pain that affects her quality of life. I don't regret still bringing her home, but I do regret not getting the vet involved way back in the Spring when Tilly's claw could have been splinted and perhaps then the joint would have mended itself more cleanly. She may still have got the arthritic changes and still had later medical requirements but at least I would have known I had tried.