Call me certifiable...

[blessedchick]

I have a group of little Silkies that are now 6 weeks old. At 3 weeks, one of them turned up with "spraddle leg", even though I am meticulous about their footing, diet and exercise. I followed the posted directions about wrapping her legs with vetwrap and started taking her to work everyday so I could be sure that she was getting plenty of food and water. Needless to say she thrived on the attention, purring and trilling happily and napping contentedly on her pink stuffed pig. I removed the wrap on day 7 - her left leg was fine, but her right leg still shot out straight beside her. I called my vet and he suggested that I wrap it again, so I did...for another 10 days. I removed this wrap with the same results - that right leg just refuses to cooperate.

Long story long, I just came back from taking her to the vet. They said that there is nothing further they can do. Common sense (after spending $100 on xrays)? Euthanize. But how does one order a death sentence on a happy, peeping cherub that lives to snuggle in your lap? Couldn't do it. And the vet said she didn't blame me. So I'm fabricating a box for her where her food and water will be close by yet she can interact with her hatchmates, which they all seem to enjoy. As long as she is happily eating, trilling, drinking, chirping with her buddies, I will accomodate her needs. Am I crazy? Don't answer that! I already know the answer, but I'm surprisingly at peace with this decision...and she is sleeping soundly in my lap while I type this out (at work)...

 

[bargain]

No, I call you kind and caring and exactly the sort of person I want to be like. Your little one is not suffering. She has quality of life, surrounded by love, and food and shelter....What more could a bird or a person want. .....

If you are certifiable, then I am too!

You should 100% be at peace and I think you are! Nany

 

[AmyLM]

nahh your not crazy. i would have done the same thing. Just keep working on the leg and she may come around. A read someone posted about their roo that was like that. They finally made a sort of chicken wheelchair for him and he would run up and down the block in it.

Id say as long as shes happy... then shes ok.

 

[blessedchick]

Thank you Nany and Amy for your words of encouragement! I guess we all must be crazy for lovin' these feathery creatures

I would love to hear more about the roo and the wheelchair! I was laying in bed this morning trying to think of ways that I could make her more mobile. It has to be frustrating for her to watch her hatch mates ripping around her, testing out their wings (I know...anthropomorphizing...but that's how I operate). I'll do a search on that wheelchair deal...