# Help, I think our 4 year old hen broke her leg



## Terri Lea (Jul 6, 2020)

My husband and I have been raising BYC for about 8 years now. We aren't allowed to have more then 6 on our property at a time. Out of our entire county we buy a house in the one spot of residential area in our whole county. We fought and payed a hefty fine to keep our girls. Sadly we had to get rid of our Beautiful Americana Rooster... We were so sad, he was a marvelous looking Bird, we loved him very much. Anyway, we are now down to two hens. Our 4 yo Bantam hen we think broke her right leg. My husband found a large rat snake in the hen house and ever since shes been favoring her leg and it's been about 3 weeks. At first we thought egg bound but she has laid eggs. We've actually watched her lay down in the run and stretch her right leg way out to the side. When my husband found Tuesday she was covered in ants so we brought her in the house, put her in a small box and are making sure she eats and drinks. She will stand but can't do it for long. Should we keep her isolated for a couple more weeks and hopefully it'll heal on it's own. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

First you shouldn't isolate the two from each other. That's very stressful for them. 

Have you done a good physical look see at the leg? You want to make note if the leg is swollen or has heat in it. The best way to do that is to touch both legs to compare. Have you looked at the bottom of the foot? You're looking for redness that isn't on the other with the possibility of a black spot. 

I would put them back together but fix it so there is no jumping down from things.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Well I agree that they should be together but if she cannot walk well enough to function, you might want to keep them both inside. She cannot run from predators, she cannot even keep the ants off of her self, you could let them outside for periods of time when you can stay out there and watch them but I wouldn't leave them alone if she cannot protect herself.

Like Robin said, check for heat, inspect her toes, toenails, bottoms of her feet, every joint including the hip, move each joint carefully and slowing, watch for a reaction from her as well as listen for clicking or other odd noises. 

I would also let her soak in an Epsom salt bath once a day, make it warm but not hot and take her out when the water cools and dry her off well so she doesn't shiver.


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