Hock joint injury

[TequellaC]

I am needing advice!
I think my rooster broke his leg in the hock/knee joint
The back story is he got his leg caught in the fence a few weeks to a month ago and has been limping but eating and drinking and still getting around. last week I was at grand ground level with them and noticed that when he put weight on it, it bowed out.
My husband and I splinted it with popsicle sticks and gauze and Coban. The joint is red and swollen. It still bows out when he puts weight on it because it’s in the joint. He’s been in a cage and hasn’t gotten any better. I’m not sure if there’s a way that I can splint it and him still be able to lay down.
Has anyone else dealt with this and what did you do to help your chicken?

At this point we are considering culling him. But he is a pet and we have never had to cull one yet so this is very difficult but we will do it if that’s what is best for him.

 

[Debbie292d]

Your rooster is beautiful!

It's been a while since he injured it so not sure how much more it's going to be able to heal or be fixed, but there's still hope I think.

That joint looks inflamed, probably as he's been using it while broken or sprained.

I would soak his legs in warm water for 15 minutes or so. Then, I would put an icepack on that area for another 5 - 10 minutes, kind of like we'd do for our own joint issues. That might offer him some relief and help with the swelling. That should be done a couple of times a day, then resplint it.

I don't know if Vetwrap is less expensive than Coban or not, but that's good stuff too for such a use.

I think your splint is great and probably one of the few ways to do it. Look at this article for a possible revision to yours.

If you think it's best to keep it straight, then for sleeping, perhaps a "chick chair" so he can be off his legs, yet lay his head down. You could roll up something soft to put in front of him so he'd be inclined to rest his head there. Getting off his leg totally would help it heal too.

My hubby made us a double chick chair by cutting the top of a square plastic kitty litter bucket off, about 5 inches, then clamping a section of an old sheet across it and cutting holes where the legs and poop go. This was for two chicks who lost the function of their legs over an OD of calcium that was out for the hens. If you did something like this for your rooster, it would obviously have to be much taller, but could be set on 2x4's if it was too short. I saw a laundry basket used for the same principal idea, and it might be a better idea to try something like that.



Here is an entire thread full of different chick chairs for other ideas.

I would also get some human version of a generic B-Complex to give him. If the pills, 1/2 of one per day, in addition to vitamins in his water, like Nutradrench or Poultry Cell. We found B-Complex drops at Walmart that said a whole eye dropper-full was a human dose, so we gave them each 1/4 of one once a day and vitamins in their feed and water.

I hope some of these ideas help as I can tell you would rather try keep your rooster.