When a chicken has to be kept in isolation for some reason, I found putting a life-size mirror where she can see her reflection helps her feel less lonely.
Flo has a disease called lymphotic leukosis, a cousin to Marek's, and it's affecting her in her legs, causing lameness. She spends good days, when she's having them, in a separate enclosure in the run where she can still associate with the flock. They bully her because of her disability, so she can't be with them.
On bad days, during severe weather, she can't stand, let alone walk. She stopped being able to run a year ago. It's either the barometric pressure or the intense cold that makes her worse, so she comes indoors and spends the day in the "infirmary", a grow-window in my garage.
However, she refuses to eat when she's alone. I've been having to hand feed her, but today I thought of giving her a mirror to see if it would make her feel like she has another chicken there with her. Well, I'd like to report, it's working great! She's spending most of her time in front of the mirror and she's eating!
Flo has a disease called lymphotic leukosis, a cousin to Marek's, and it's affecting her in her legs, causing lameness. She spends good days, when she's having them, in a separate enclosure in the run where she can still associate with the flock. They bully her because of her disability, so she can't be with them.
On bad days, during severe weather, she can't stand, let alone walk. She stopped being able to run a year ago. It's either the barometric pressure or the intense cold that makes her worse, so she comes indoors and spends the day in the "infirmary", a grow-window in my garage.
However, she refuses to eat when she's alone. I've been having to hand feed her, but today I thought of giving her a mirror to see if it would make her feel like she has another chicken there with her. Well, I'd like to report, it's working great! She's spending most of her time in front of the mirror and she's eating!
