poorly Maran

[hedgehogsdad]

Hi,

My Maran isn't moving about, her left leg looks fine but she doesn't seem to be able to put any weight on it. I'm certainly no vet, but it doesn't appear to be broken, or to have any external signs of damage. Has anyone ever experienced anything similar, and if so are the any suggestions?

My concern is that she isn't leaving the coop and is therefore not eating or drinking.

Help?

 

[chrismahon]

Have you a cockerel Hedgehogsdad? This is typical of damage during treading and also during manoeuvring through the pop-hole whilst jumping off the perches. If you feel the leg joint and foot -are they hot relative to the good leg? If so you could try applying Arnica/ Witch Hazel gel as it may be a sprain. Alternatively it could be a hip injury which could also be sprained and that can't be treated. The one hip injury we had took 6 weeks to heal but the hen lived another 5 years afterwards, in perfect health. Important she eats and drinks so she will need to be put somewhere where she can stay warm and reach food and water. Our 'sickies' go into a dog cage in the house. Once she is mobile she can go back but be aware she may be treated as an outsider, so the sooner the later. We have had some hens forget their buddy after just 48 hours and some are still friends 2 weeks later. To get round that we put them in the run for half an hour every day, so they are still recognised.

 

[hedgehogsdad]

The foot does seem a little warmer than the other, and so perhaps that's the problem. Thanks for the advice, I may resurrect our old coop and run and put some food and water in that for her. Probably a daft question, where do I get the gel?

 

[Marigold]

Have you examined the underside pad of her foot to see if there is an injury? If she has trodden on a thorn etc it may have caused a sore infected place (Bumblefoot.) see http://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/bumblefoot

 

[hedgehogsdad]

There is no obvious sign, but I will have another look. She is more "dragging" the leg, rather than is lame or not wanting to put weight on it. It certainly doesn't feel broken, but when she sits down she doesn't bend it under her like they normally do

 

[Icemaiden]

The foot does seem a little warmer than the other, and so perhaps that's the problem. Thanks for the advice, I may resurrect our old coop and run and put some food and water in that for her. Probably a daft question, where do I get the gel?

Hi Hedgehogsdad.
Any pharmacy / chemist's should stock it; look in the first aid section.
Keep us posted...

 

[chrismahon]

We got our gel from the 'horsey supplies' section in the local agricultural merchants Hedgehogsdad. I've just checked in the cabinet and Lincoln is the brand, in a black plastic tub with a yellow lid. But as Icemaiden said, a chemist will have the same thing for human use.

 

[Marigold]

When buying anything for a chicken from a chemist, if asked always say its for yourself, or for a friend, (which us true in a way.) Sometimes chemists are reluctant to sell human remedies for animal use.
Just don't say the friend has wings and lays eggs!

 

[Nick]

Not wishing to suggest anything too terrible - but we had a chicken that (goodness only knows how) broke her hip. The leg looked just fine, but after a day it was clear she was not able to walk, or sit down properly. Being softies we had her X-rayed and that told us the bad news. Just a thought if there is nothing else apparently wrong but she is having so much difficulty…

 

[mjg]

Can you not just take her to your avian vet? Our girls are registered with the same vet as our macaw, and they're great. Hope she is better soon!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[hedgehogsdad]

Thanks everyone for your responses and your concerns. We put her in an old coop with a run attached and she seems to be improving, albeit slowly. I'm going to give her the weekend, and if she continues to get better, will keep her isolated and quiet, if not then ill hunt out a vet and see where that takes us.

Will keep you posted

Thanks again, Hedgehogsdad.

 

[chickenfan]

Hello Nick,

What was the outcome of your hen's x-ray? Were they able to offer any treatment, or did they just say to put the hen down because of the broken hip?

I have a similar problem to hedgehogsdad. I'm feeling terrible because it was my fault. I dropped my hen (hybrid) over some fencing and somehow she landed badly and can't put any weight on her leg and it feels hot. I've put arnica on.

 

[dinosaw]

I would put her in something like a cat carrier or similar so she can't stand and then leave that in the run with the other chickens, feed her well and add some extra protein. After a week let her out and see how she is walking and reassess the situation. This worked for me when I managed to stand on one of my birds, she made a good recovery but always had a limp though it never seemed to hurt her quality of life.

 

[chickenfan]

Dear Dinosaw, Thank you very much for your kind thoughts. I've had her in a small run within the other hens area and have now added one of her buddies to encourage her to eat a bit more. Good idea about the extra protein and enforced rest within a smaller area. Thankyou.