Pegleg

I have three varieties of chickens: Rhode Island Red, Black Australorp, and the feisty little White Leghorn.
The Reds are very mellow and friendly. They don't run away when approached. The Blacks are big beautiful birds who are a bit skittish in a healthy sort of way. But then we have those awful, independent-minded White Leghorns! I have never met a more annoying bird in my life.
They love to jump the fence and venture out to greener pastures, even if it is actually the neighbor's flowerbed. It is not a wise thing to do.
Six or seven of my 25 Whites regularly jumped the fence. Gradually this number decreased as some didn't return home in the evening. After a season, there was only one fence-jumper left. She would stay pretty close to the fence, but on the outside, and she always jumped back over when I dished out the evening meal.
One evening a few weeks ago, she was outside the fence trying and trying to leap back in the yard to get her share of the feed. I noticed she was standing on one foot and she just couldn't get that high in the air to make it over the six-foot wire fence. I went around to check her out.
All of the Whites are very difficult to pick up. They run as though being chased by a fox even though I have had them since they were 2 days old and have never mistreated them. There were too many of them to pick up and handle each one every day so they just never got used to being picked up.
After a lot of chasing and cornering, I was finally able to pick up the limping bird. I inspected her leg and it was obvious that it was broken and there was a small cut at the break.
I took her into the house and put iodine on the cut. When the iodine dried, I coated the wound with antiseptic "New Skin" which is like a clear nail polish. It seals out dirt and germs. I made a splint using a plastic Q-tip and some clear, heavy-duty packing tape. Looked good.
Then I set up a folding fence in the living room (thank God I have vinyl flooring) and made a little coral for her. After putting down newspaper and food and water, I set her in the pen.
She held the broken leg up against her body and hopped around on one foot. She had a very good appetite and ate her fill and then settled down to sleep.
After a couple of days she began to use the broken leg for balance when she was eating. But she was still hopping on one foot when she moved around. I began calling her Pegleg.
One morning when I came into the living room, Pegleg was sitting on the top of the folding fence. I said, "Come on, Pegleg. I guess you are ready to go back outside." I put her out and watched to make sure that she would be okay.
Chickens, as a rule, don't take to signs of weakness among their own kind and will pick at any sick or weak one. One of Pegleg's siblings tried this with her and she immediately defended herself and the attacker backed off. I knew she would be able to hold her own.
When evening came and it was time to close the doors on the coops, I saw poor little Pegleg was on the floor, unable to make the jump up to the roost. I took her into the house for the night, set up the pen and gave her a special meal to help her regain her strength.
I put her out in the morning, and that evening Pegleg was again on the floor of the coop. "Back to the house, Pegleg."
This was repeated until five days later when I saw she was up on the roost with the other girls.
Pegleg is still wearing her splint and has a pronounced limp. I am going to leave the splint on her for a while longer. She needs the support on her bone, especially since she has gone back to jumping the fence again.