My special needs hen ❤️

[HappyFeetHens]

I’m an FFA member, and our chapter hatched about 20 chicks this spring. One hatched late during my class, and already something was off. The poor thing wasn’t really walking even once she’d dried off. Later, I came back to see her in the brooder, still not walking. I realized when I picked her up that he legs curled beneath her and her toes would not spread and stay flat. She couldn’t walk correctly. So being the type to fall for the animals that don’t have much of a chance, I scoured the Internet for a solution. A friend and I used bandaids to flatten and straighten her toes, and after about a week, my new favorite hen was fixed up! I took her home because I was afraid she wouldn’t have a chance with other chicks or with anyone else and she became the sweetest hen I’ve ever had. She sits on my arm and lets me hold her forever. Next time you have a deformed chick, think about finding a solution! If they’re purebred and their deformity can be corrected and unnoticeable, they could make great show chickens, as the constant nurture from a young age makes them so easy to handle. I’ve got some pictures of my sweet girl attached also, I named her Happy Feet for her weird walk when she was little. You can see in the pictures when she was tiny that she had trouble balancing and still had curled toes. She’s my favorite <3 Show me your special needs babies!

 

[Little Chicken Girl]

So sweet! I'm a sucker for rescue chickens. They're so addictive... In fact, I am up to 9 total now.
What breed is she? Almost looks like a Leghorn cross or 3ed generation sex-link.

I had a 1/2 blind rescue Australorp hen (named Selah) that loved riding on my bicycle with me (yeah, even I thought that was weird). Kids loved her because she was so extremely docile and loved attention... She even followed strangers around for no reason whatsoever (it creeped some out having a chicken that heeled better than their dog).

I just got a Tolbunt polish chick with crooked toes. However, though I'm still splinting her toes, I got her at 6 wks, so effectiveness of treatment will be limited.
She's very active and getting along just fine even with her toe unevenness... she's also getting very friendly from all the attention.

Though it is really neat to rescue chicks... there comes a time when a gentle end is best, I've learned. I had a beloved Crevecoeur with cross-beak. Her deviation was not so bad and I was so attached so I did not cull her. She became very friendly and I was even able to train her to jump on my arm with a simple command (she was really smart). You can see that here:

I loved this chicken... but by the time she was 1 yr and 1/2, her deviation, though still more minor than many, began causing her problems (the top portion rubbing wrong on the bottom, causing a raw, blistered patch). It would only get worse as her beak continued to grow so I culled her as humanely as possible. Though sad, I knew it was the right thing to do.

 

[HappyFeetHens]

Adorable! Yes, depending on the condition, I can agree that sometimes it’s better to prevent them from suffering any further. Since we started fixing her toes so young, she’s pretty normal now, apart from getting used to flock life haha. And yes, I believe she’s a leghorn cross of some sort, but the chicks we hatched came from another FFA member and we didn’t know what breeds any of them were. Anyway, glad there’s someone else who’s a sucker for these kinds of animals!

 

[drumstick diva]

Many years ago when I raised dogs, I would try my hardest with the special needs puppies. I'd get them up to an age where I thought we were over the hump - only to have them die suddenly.

My vet said -my great care kept them alive but, the defects they had claimed their life.

I got a really cute male up to 8 weeks old and was sure he would make it. All of a sudden he started having seizures. The vet had to put him down and said - the pup had one lung missing and his heart in the wrong place. Of course it broke my heart (not the first time with babies).

The vet said if I left them to nature, I wouldn't be so crushed. But, yah I would. It's just hard/sometimes impossible to give up hope.

 

[MichelleBelle]

I really like this post. I lost my special needs chicken last night and miss her sweet spirit. Her name was Lazarus, named so because we thought she had died when she was just a few months old. She recovered but was unable to walk properly and had severely curled toes, was much smaller, and moved about in a very stooped position (breast almost touching ground). Though she faced these challenges, we think she still was a happy chicken, and she enjoyed watching the kids kick a ball around in the back yard.

 

[leighks]

I really like this post. I lost my special needs chicken last night and miss her sweet spirit. Her name was Lazarus, named so because we thought she had died when she was just a few months old. She recovered but was unable to walk properly and had severely curled toes, was much smaller, and moved about in a very stooped position (breast almost touching ground). Though she faced these challenges, we think she still was a happy chicken, and she enjoyed watching the kids kick a ball around in the back yard.

Awww so sorry for your loss. It’s great people are willing to give these underdogs a chance at a happy life, even if it’s brief.