Special needs chickens contest

[Avalon1984]

Here is my little Pearly. She is a white EE. The guy I bought her from used nets to catch the birds and I believe he broke her hip. She could run just fine at his place and was lame when she came to ours. A few months ago the older hens attacked her and she has been my nanny bird for the chicks ever since. She even started to lay eggs again. She is a pity to watch at times as the one leg is almost unusable but she makes things work and has a strong will to live.

Here she is caring about the young

 

[tinychicky]

barrdwing, wow she's pretty even without eyes i have one of the same cross that looks a lot like her, named Opal. strange that she's white even tho her mother was a black mottle d'uccle and father was a black silkie. no idea where the white feather gene came from

 

[Barrdwing]

Tinychicky, Opal is beautiful! And how interesting, that she would turn out all white. (I see that she even has that little trace of black in her tail, which Sonar has too.) You know, I had a black Silky roo at the same time as the white roo, and it never occurred to me that he could be the father instead of the white one! This is making me think! I think I read somewhere that some all-white breeds like the white Leghorn were "built" on a Dominant Black genotype, and I know that there are several genes that can cause white feathering, but clearly in Opal's case it's not Dominant White. Maybe some recessive white was present in both parents? This is so interesting--I love chicken color genetics, even though I don't understand the subject very well!

Say, I'd been meaning to ask: is Toast taking a swim? What a remarkable bird! Here I worry about one of ours getting into the ducks' swimming tub and drowning, and there is Toast demonstrating the chicken-paddle!

 

[Chickenberry]

Here is Petunia...She's a Dominique mix... She's not really handicapped... but she does have a deformity. Her whole head is covered in comb! It's like she has a swimming cap on!

 

[Animalian]

Quote:
This person just hatched a chick with no eyes, lots of other people have eyeless poultry on this thread, maybe you could give them some advice too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=520492

 

[Barrdwing]

Thanks for the link, Animalian! It looks like Rainstorm has been doing a great job with their chick: getting it to eat is definitely the hardest part. What a cute baby! I'll say hi over there and keep an eye on that thread.

 

[ouracrybaby]

I took in the special chicks from local schools hatching this year. I fixed who I could and kept who I couldn't.

Tyson and Nugget. Tyson had curled toes, Nugget RIP was born with some major neurological issues. (Nugget lived 33 days)

Wobble. She also had some curled toes. (She's perfect now as is Tyson)

Last but not least, my little bantam, Goliath. She was the only survivor of her hatch and suffered from a slipped tendon. The hock was too swollen to repair and the owner didn't want her back. So she's my baby now.

 

[SeramaChick]

So many great stories on here! Perhaps a thread could be started for special needs rehabbers, that poultry folk can message. I'd be willing to take on poultry in my area who have deformities. We might be able to save some from culling if others are interested as well. Just an idea?!

 

[khatar]

This is chirp, my gold star hen. She lost an eye due to an infection of unknown causes. She also has a bald spot on her head.

She's 3 years old. She sometimes bumps into things but she has learned to live with it.

Her feathers used to be beautiful, but they became ragged and ruff after she lost the eye. I only have one pic because she was terrified of the camera and hid under a push.

 

[Zaxby's2]

Quote:
She's pretty anyway!