- Aug 5, 2012
- 32
- 145
- 124
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hello All...My name is Colleen & I am a chickenaholic!
My fiance & I have 11 adult chickens, 8 – 7 1/2 week old chicks, 1 lab/retriever mix & a cat somebody dumped on our beautiful property in Auburn, CA. I am a new BYC 'member' but have visited this site NUMEROUS time. Everything I know about chickens I have learned from this site. Over the past three years I have successfully grafted 20 chicks to 4 different broody hens..cured an eggbound chicken...rid my girls of scaly leg mites and performed bumblefoot surgery thanks to you all. Our girls used to free range 24/7 until neighbor dogs went on a killing spree and senselessly killed half of our flock (-9) not a nice scene to come home to...combined with the random coyote snatching (-6) they unfortunately don't get out unless chaperoned. Then came the black bear....uncommon for our area...broke into the coop during the night and got 10 chickens.....we installed an electric fence and so far no more bear problems...AND NOW every evening at dusk there has been a great horned owl teaching it's baby how to hunt way out in our pasture...I was chaperoning late afternoon on saturday when nature called...I was gone but 5 minutes and when I came out ALL of my girls were freaked out and hiding under a big bush. I did a head count and only 7 chicks
( After about a 1/2 hour search I found the 8th chick alive but limp laying in the tall grass. Took her inside and checked her over...found 2 bloody puncture marks on her back and some feathers are missing here and there...CURSE THAT OWL...she couldn't stand up & seemed like she might be in shock. I cleaned the wounds & put triple anti-biotic ointment on (yes the kind w/o painreliever), put her in a box in a quiet spot in my house. She drank a little water but wouldn't eat anything. Checked her 1st thing in am and she seemed ok but still wouldn't stand up. I gently felt each leg and don't feel any obvious broken bones. She flaps her wings and tries real hard to stand...but nothing. I put one of her sisters in with her to keep her company for the night. She is eating and drinking but try as she might cannot stand up...she doesn't appear to be in pain...DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO...short on $$ so unfortunately vet visit is not an option...PLEASE ADVISE...don't want to have to put her down...we've lost 25 chickens in the last 3 years to predators and I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYMORE!!! ( PLEASE I AM BEGGING...ANY & ALL ADVICE WELCOME...PLEASE HELP...THANK YOU[/FONT]
My fiance & I have 11 adult chickens, 8 – 7 1/2 week old chicks, 1 lab/retriever mix & a cat somebody dumped on our beautiful property in Auburn, CA. I am a new BYC 'member' but have visited this site NUMEROUS time. Everything I know about chickens I have learned from this site. Over the past three years I have successfully grafted 20 chicks to 4 different broody hens..cured an eggbound chicken...rid my girls of scaly leg mites and performed bumblefoot surgery thanks to you all. Our girls used to free range 24/7 until neighbor dogs went on a killing spree and senselessly killed half of our flock (-9) not a nice scene to come home to...combined with the random coyote snatching (-6) they unfortunately don't get out unless chaperoned. Then came the black bear....uncommon for our area...broke into the coop during the night and got 10 chickens.....we installed an electric fence and so far no more bear problems...AND NOW every evening at dusk there has been a great horned owl teaching it's baby how to hunt way out in our pasture...I was chaperoning late afternoon on saturday when nature called...I was gone but 5 minutes and when I came out ALL of my girls were freaked out and hiding under a big bush. I did a head count and only 7 chicks
( After about a 1/2 hour search I found the 8th chick alive but limp laying in the tall grass. Took her inside and checked her over...found 2 bloody puncture marks on her back and some feathers are missing here and there...CURSE THAT OWL...she couldn't stand up & seemed like she might be in shock. I cleaned the wounds & put triple anti-biotic ointment on (yes the kind w/o painreliever), put her in a box in a quiet spot in my house. She drank a little water but wouldn't eat anything. Checked her 1st thing in am and she seemed ok but still wouldn't stand up. I gently felt each leg and don't feel any obvious broken bones. She flaps her wings and tries real hard to stand...but nothing. I put one of her sisters in with her to keep her company for the night. She is eating and drinking but try as she might cannot stand up...she doesn't appear to be in pain...DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO...short on $$ so unfortunately vet visit is not an option...PLEASE ADVISE...don't want to have to put her down...we've lost 25 chickens in the last 3 years to predators and I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYMORE!!! ( PLEASE I AM BEGGING...ANY & ALL ADVICE WELCOME...PLEASE HELP...THANK YOU[/FONT]
from Ohio. So glad to have you aboard. So sorry about your loss. It sounds like you are doing everything you can for the chick. Just keep doing what you are doing and hope for the best. tI will come down to her quality of life that will matter most. Good luck, I hope she bounces. back. 
