# Hurt hen and now raspy breathing



## Snookie (Mar 25, 2015)

Hello,

This morning I found my hen soaking wet (guessing she was chased into the creek) and with a hurt leg so I isolated her with food and water. She doesn't have any cuts or anything, she is just limping, and not wanting to put weight on her leg. 

So she laid around most of the day and I went to give her some more food and water and noticed after she drank water she had a very raspy breathing sound. 

Do you think she could have gotten pneumonia from getting cold/being wet? 

I'm trying to decide whether to treat her with antibiotics or cull her (which I don't want to do if this is not contagious, just due to getting cold), or just wait.


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## Karen (Jun 22, 2010)

Definitely keep her isolated and warm, some extra food as fuel to help fight the infection cannot hurt!


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## Greybird (May 14, 2014)

Did you dry her off after you found her? (hairdryer on low) That would have been my first action.
I suspect that something almost caught her and that she might have been already injured when she went into the creek. 
She definitely needs to be kept warm. The raspy breathing might be due to some internal injuries that are gradually affecting her more and more, or maybe she inhaled some water. I doubt if pneumonia could have appeared so soon.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with antibiotics but I would give her as much support as possible in every other way. It's possible that she might have a broken leg but if it's pointed the right direction and looks straight then she can probably recover just fine with no need for splinting it. 
Just keep her warm, dry, and quiet and see how she does. If she makes it for a couple more days without getting worse then she will probably recover completely.


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