URGENT! Chicken can't walk, lost use of leg and foot is paralysed, please help...

[honeythechicken]

She doesn't need to stay in it 24/7, but she does need to be prevented from trying to bear weight on the injured leg. Usually chickens are content to be in an upright position and don't struggle to get out of a sling or chair, but occasionally they are intent to escape. Check back if she doesn't want to stay in her new sling/chair. Fresh air, sunshine and the company of her flock are all good for her spirits; you can take her outside in her sling/chair.

Also, as @Hahamilton mentioned, vitamins E and B help repair nerve connections. I would start her on both vitamins asap too, and continue for several weeks. Vitamin E 400iu 2 x day or 1000iu once daily. B complex 1000mg, half tablet 2x daily.
Unless your vet prescribes otherwise, of course. I'm glad she has another vet appointment Tuesday, many don't have a vet that will treat chickens. Keep us updated.

The vitamin supplements sound like human doses, I've been researching and I'm not sure if she might get too much B12 as apparently it builds up in the chickens body? Also the vitamin E sounds high and is fat soluble, would it not be too much?

With the chicken sling, would it be ok to only use it during the day and let her sit in her indoor pen at night to sleep?

My vet is an exotic vet but also sees chickens, hopefully I can get an appointment in the next few days! Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it

 

[Shadrach]

She shouldn't have been out and about and she shouldn't be on painkillers.
The fox attack has just exacerbated what was already a debilitating condition.
What she needs assuming it's a muscle strain or temdon injury is rest and minimum mobilty. That is in part what the pain is for, to discourage the use of the limb.
If you have a pet carrier she should be confined to that. Place folded towels in the bottom. Something like this.

No bigger. You want to discourage her from using the leg.

 

[Shadrach]

Keep her warm and stress free. Feed her tinned fish, scrambled egg and anything else she will eat. Take her out daily, in the pet carrier if necessary so she can see the rest of her group. If you let her out for a while you need to stay with her and prevent her trying to move around.
Explain to the vet that you go to see them to find out what is wrong with your hen; not to be given a few painkillers in the hope that the problem will go away.

 

[honeythechicken]

Keep her warm and stress free. Feed her tinned fish, scrambled egg and anything else she will eat. Take her out daily, in the pet carrier if necessary so she can see the rest of her group. If you let her out for a while you need to stay with her and prevent her trying to move around.
Explain to the vet that you go to see them to find out what is wrong with your hen; not to be given a few painkillers in the hope that the problem will go away.

We were prescribed rheumocam for a week which is medication for muso-skeletal pain relief after seeing nothing on the x-ray.

She goes out every day with me (I carry her) and stays put - she can't stand up and physically move anymore and doesn't try to. My hen has a sensitive temperament and she was very tentative when limping any way, so she definitely knows her limits and doesn't over-exert herself.

I know she shouldn't have been out in the first place, that was not my doing (someone else let her out without my knowledge). I wasn't happy about it and was going to bring her back into the coop after having my meal but the fox suddenly leaped into our backyard, it's lucky we were in the kitchen and acted quickly before it grabbed my other hen.

Indoors I am keeping her in a warm large box with bedding, a water cup and plate for layer pellets/other food. She is a nervous hen and doesn't like being confined like this and handled by people so this whole ordeal is effecting her appetite and mood I think

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

No the fox jumped over the wall and started pursuing my other hen who is the youngest and fastest at running. She got away to the house although some of her tail feathers were plucked out. We ran out as soon as we saw the fox in the backyard to scare it away. My hen with this limp was spooked anyway when she saw the fox running away and started running for her life towards us, then eventually falling as her leg just gave out.

Will your injured hen (and other hens too) be safe from the fox while outside in her chicken chair? Because the fox Will be back.

The vitamin supplements sound like human doses, I've been researching and I'm not sure if she might get too much B12 as apparently it builds up in the chickens body? Also the vitamin E sounds high and is fat soluble, would it not be too much?

With the chicken sling, would it be ok to only use it during the day and let her sit in her indoor pen at night to sleep?

My vet is an exotic vet but also sees chickens, hopefully I can get an appointment in the next few days! Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it

Yes the vitamins are human vitamins. I will tag a couple of medical experts on this forum @azygous @Wyorp Rock to verify the dosages. The foods that @Shadrach mentioned are also very nutritious and full of vitamins too.

 

[Shadrach]

We were prescribed rheumocam for a week which is medication for muso-skeletal pain relief after seeing nothing on the x-ray.

She goes out every day with me (I carry her) and stays put - she can't stand up and physically move anymore and doesn't try to. My hen has a sensitive temperament and she was very tentative when limping any way, so she definitely knows her limits and doesn't over-exert herself.

I know she shouldn't have been out in the first place, that was not my doing (someone else let her out without my knowledge). I wasn't happy about it and was going to bring her back into the coop after having my meal but the fox suddenly leaped into our backyard, it's lucky we were in the kitchen and acted quickly before it grabbed my other hen.

Indoors I am keeping her in a warm large box with bedding, a water cup and plate for layer pellets/other food. She is a nervous hen and doesn't like being confined like this and handled by people so this whole ordeal is effecting her appetite and mood I think

One of the hardest things on chickens is stress.
I've had two hens completely paralysed through stress.
The story of one is below. I've linked you to it so that you can have some idea of what Dandy and I went through to get her mobile again. It may give you some ideas about how to go about encouraging your hen to walk. A lot is going to depend on how much time and effort you are prepared to put into her.
I'll point out that a country vet in rural Catalonia with no X ray, no advanced tech and not having treated chickens since she finished vet school some 30 years before was able to diagnose the problem as stress related once I had accurately described the circumstances that led to the paralysis.
I wish you the best with your hen.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/shadrachs-stories.1263724/post-20314661

 

[honeythechicken]

If she has a soft tissue injury, you need to make her a sling or chicken chair asap. A soft tissue injury will take about as long to heal as a broken bone would, and same as with a broken bone, she is causing more damage by trying to bear her weight on the injured leg.
Here is a thread with many ideas for slings and chairs. Some are for chicks, but looking through the thread should give you some ideas.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

I forgot to mention before, from our original vet visit when she had the limp we were told the injury is somewhere at the top of the leg/hip because while the vet was examining her she was uncomfortable around that area whilst the leg was being extended. Now her entire leg is obviously not working so the situation may have changed but bearing this in mind, would making a chicken sling still be ok considering her possible hip injury? Would her weight not be bearing down on the top of her leg which might make things worse?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

If her hip is injured, then yes you are right to be concerned that she could injure it further if she tried to escape her sling. Your judgement and intuition seem good as far as how to deal with her injury. The trick is going to be to prevent her from trying to bear weight after her leg begins to heal/starts to not hurt as much. Also, to prevent a breast blister/keel sore, she needs to be laying on something very soft, like a pillow.

 

[honeythechicken]

UPDATE

I took my hen to the vet again today and she had another x-ray done. It's much worse than we originally thought, she has now fractured her right leg like a spiral fracture and the bone is out of place at the top so it won't heal properly on it's own. This is why she's been holding up the leg to her wing, and as the vet described to me her leg is very unstable at the joint compared to her normal leg and the tendon is probably injured too causing the paralysis of the foot.

The vet has told me about an avian specialist who would be able to operate on her and fix the leg, but she has told me time is of the essence and I need to decide soon if I want to be referred on for the surgery. The only problem is the cost will be very excessive for me (over £3k) for the consultations, surgery and post-surgery check ups to see if the bone heals. I don't have the means to pay for it all right now but I desperately want to help my girl, I know she will have no quality of life and eventually die if this fracture isn't treated, as she barely eats anymore and is in a lot of pain. I've been prescribed stronger painkiller medication I am giving her this evening.

I might fundraise online for her surgery but I don't know how many people I can reach as I don't have a social media presence and there are not many people in my life that can help me financially. I just wanted you all to know what's going on right now as you have all been so helpful the last few days and I am so grateful for all the tips I have got from here. I am still giving her vitamin B and E, and I've started feeding her treats like corn just to make sure she eats something as she's getting very skinny.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

You are in a tough spot as far as choices to make, and I am sorry. The problem as I see it is even IF you had the money laying around to risk the surgery, there is no guarantee the leg will heal properly, and anesthetic itself is a risk for birds. (An avian specialist improves the odds of a successful outcome, but still...) No matter the species of animal, with an injury this severe plus the high surgery cost to try and fix it, no one would blame you if you choose to euthanize. Let us know what you decide, and again I am sorry you need to make such a hard decision.