[joolie]

can anyone please help me with my injured hen.  Sweetie had an accident yesterday morning and hurt her right leg.  Since then she has been limping very badly and the leg looks a bit grey.  She can stand on both legs but prefers to tuck her poorly leg right up into herself.  When she tries to walk she limps really bad.  However when i put food out she eats like there's no tomorrow! She is the leader of the group but they seem to be ignoring her.  I dont know what to do as our vet knows nothing about poulty - i rang and all they said was that they could put her to sleep.  That is absolutely the last resort - she is my favourite and i want to try something before that happens.  Is there any pain relief i could offer her?
Please can someone help me - i cant bear to think of her in pain 

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, ok, metacam can be used for hens, but so can baby asprin/baby calpol. I have given a medium sized ex-batt hen a baby asprin disolved in the water she is drinking from. If she is with the others, you cant put it in the water so give her 2.5mls of BABY calpol through a syringe into her beak. Most chemists sell syringes. I would be looking for another vet im afraid. If there are no others in your area, talk to them again. An injured leg should be treated the same way as they would for another bird, i.e a parrot!

[joyfull]

I should speak to another vet - she may need metacam to reduce any swelling if it's just a sprain and if it is a break then it may need splinting. Ask your vets how they would treat a parrot or other bird.

[joolie]

thanks for your advice so far joyfull and dizzylizzie - can i just ask if there is a withdrawl period for her eggs please? i've brought her into the house again with a view to putting her back in the coop at night to keep snuggled up to the others and keep her status at the top.

[dizzylizzie]

not sure about metacam, but i would still eat the eggs with calpol/asprin. In my opinion, its important to get her to a vet as you dont actualy know what is wrong with her leg, it could be sorted very easily

[joyfull]

when mine was on metacam she was also on antibiotics so we had a withdrawel period for that so can't help sorry, if in doubt then don't eat the eggs. A vet should be ablt to advise you.

[joolie]

thanks for that - will take her to the vets if no improvement by tomorrow.

[wildwitchy]

metacam is just a (NSAI) non steriodal antinflammitory) for animals. Most animals can have for injuries/pain relief/athritus. It's like bruphen for pets.

I've never withdrawn eggs. You do for antibiotics & 7 days after course too. Arnica cream is also good for sprains & bruises (as long as there is no broken skin, as it's poisonous if it gets into the bloodstream direct) & in humans too. You can get that from holland & barrett. £4.15

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=587&prodid=216

hope she gets well & that vet should be shot for saying that - disgusting creature so he is!



 

[Aunt Sally]

Definitely check for a fracture.  If it is then make sure all your hens have some extra calcium for a while to strengthen their bones.  Egg laying is a big drain on bone calcium.

[joyfull]

Does her leg feel warm to the touch?

[Caralou]

Hi Joolie - whereabouts in W Yorks are you? I have some metacam pain relief in my little chook first aid kit and also my local vets are good with chooks and dont charge a fortune for a consulation (they're in Soothill, Batley).

[joolie]

Thanks everyone for your advice so far.

Joyfull- Her leg does feel warm to the touch but i presumed it was because she is inside and spends alot of time with it tucked inside her.
 
Caralou - i live in wakefield which is not far from batley. I have got some metacam which i use for my puppy - dose according to body weight. Could i have the details of your vet as i might see about going over please? 

She seems a little better today - her leg is still a blue grey colour but she is eating and drinking and even laid for me this morning which i took to be a good sign! I've been looking after my girls for nearly 8 months now and this is the first time i have been worried about loosing one of them.  To make matters worse i have notice some crawly light orange things close to the base of the feathers on my legbar - it's going downhill fast for me and i am starting to feel out of my depth. What am i doing wrong here? 
 
 

[dizzylizzie]

Hi, im glad she seems a little better today .From the colour of her leg, sounds like a bruise.3 Days after we got out first hens, willow fell off the ramp to the coop and broke her wing and dislocated her leg....the colours that girls skin went The thing was, because she was an ex-batt she hardly had any feathers and with the spectacular bruising, she looked like a psychedelic disco chicken (that just happened to have her wing taped up and was on bed rest) . If the skin isnt broken, you can use a muscle rub, like ibuprofen. That will ease the pain, and like i said before, you can put a baby asprin in her water

[joyfull]

hello again - right first things first you are doing absolutely nothing wrong 
Have a look at this sticky about mites lice etc

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=5250.0

having lice or mites are easily solved ask a vet for frontline either drops or spray.

As the leg is warm it could be a sprain or fracture so again visit a vet for advise and possibly get a split put on. Caras vets are really good and used to her and her animals so will cope easily with your few hens 

[joolie]

thanks everyone - i dont know what i'd do without this site.  Will visit the vets when i know where the one Caralou recommends is - then will keep you posted with how she's doing.