TylerEngland
Chirping
Sadly, I think my sweet, 6mo polish chicken, Big Bird (BB) suffered a fracture to her hock and an injury to her tendon last Friday, and there appears to be a little nerve damage as well but still good circulation. Twice I've taken her to the vet to be put down (my husband is attached to this chicken and I don't want to make him wring her neck himself), and twice, right before the appointment, she perked back up and showed some spunk, so the appointments have just been about how to keep her comfortable and heal as we move forward. The vet does not believe this is a case of Mareks, and she thinks she has decent chance of recovery, at least to the point where she'll be able to somewhat adequately walk again, albeit probably with a little hobble. Right now we are in the process of upgrading her chicken sling and I think it's helping a lot with her comfort and getting her to eat well.
Right now she's kind of like a toddler as in she's very picky and one day she'll love one type of food, and the next day, she'll completely ignore it. She's been getting spoiled with all the food options and is currently keen on wet cat food (chicken flavor
), chicken scratch, tomatoes, cricket crunchies, baked potato, and grass/wood sorrel. I have to sort of make a soup of her layer feed, oyster shell, grit, polyvisol, probiotics, and sometimes a little buffered little baby aspirin, with the things she likes to even get her to eat a little of the healthy stuff. I'm concerned that she's not getting a balanced diet, but I'd rather her eat 'treat' food than not much at all.
Anyways, sorry to ramble. At this point, we are going to reassess her in 3 weeks to see if she's making any improvement, so long as she's still eating and preening and acting somewhat like a normal chicken. If she isn't making any progress, then we'll humanely euthanize her at that point.
To give her the best chance possible, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for some foods or dietary supplements that can give her body the things it needs to repair bones, tendons, and nerves. Any tips or inspirational stories are also welcome as well, as are tips for getting her to eat the healthy stuff willingly. Would glucosamine, collagen, or B2 etc be safe/helpful?
Thanks in advance and I hope this question isn't redundant.
PS. she was not that wowed by yogurt or scrambled eggs, but I'm about to hard-boil some and try that
PPS. her head looks bad still, but is healing well. Her sisters got to her before I realized she was injured. We have treated that with Vetericyn, Neosporin, and Baytil just in case.
Right now she's kind of like a toddler as in she's very picky and one day she'll love one type of food, and the next day, she'll completely ignore it. She's been getting spoiled with all the food options and is currently keen on wet cat food (chicken flavor
), chicken scratch, tomatoes, cricket crunchies, baked potato, and grass/wood sorrel. I have to sort of make a soup of her layer feed, oyster shell, grit, polyvisol, probiotics, and sometimes a little buffered little baby aspirin, with the things she likes to even get her to eat a little of the healthy stuff. I'm concerned that she's not getting a balanced diet, but I'd rather her eat 'treat' food than not much at all.Anyways, sorry to ramble. At this point, we are going to reassess her in 3 weeks to see if she's making any improvement, so long as she's still eating and preening and acting somewhat like a normal chicken. If she isn't making any progress, then we'll humanely euthanize her at that point.
To give her the best chance possible, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for some foods or dietary supplements that can give her body the things it needs to repair bones, tendons, and nerves. Any tips or inspirational stories are also welcome as well, as are tips for getting her to eat the healthy stuff willingly. Would glucosamine, collagen, or B2 etc be safe/helpful?
Thanks in advance and I hope this question isn't redundant.
PS. she was not that wowed by yogurt or scrambled eggs, but I'm about to hard-boil some and try that
PPS. her head looks bad still, but is healing well. Her sisters got to her before I realized she was injured. We have treated that with Vetericyn, Neosporin, and Baytil just in case.
...and to think, she was the least bratty of my chickens before this. I'm not going to share the leftovers with the other girls just in case things go south and a necropsy would point to Mareks
I just went to check on her, and today she's all about her dry layer pellets all of the sudden 
. Thanks so much for your encouragement! 
I don't consider grass and sorrel treats, just free range items. I personally would use a starter feed with more protein that is still formulated for chickens, dry or wet.
