Calling all chicken chiropractors.. Speckledhen's Zane needs you!

[gumpsgirl]

No, this is not a joke!

Does anyone know if there is a way to fix a chicken's back? I mean like a chiropractor does and adjustment to us humans??? If so, speckledhen, and Zane, would probably love to learn how to do it!

Okay... This truly isn't a joke. After reading and following Cynthia's post on Zane, I truly believe that his back is out of wack and needs to be adjusted. If anyone has any experience with this sort of thing, please, please, please step forward. Zane needs help and so do his owners. Thanks!

Edited to add more info.

 

[dlhunicorn]

edited orignal post as the links no longer function (drats)

@Cyn > I would keep his movement restricted for a while to allow for healing (at least five weeks) ... don't know any other advice to give you...I recall very few refences specific to spinal injury in birds (forget trying to find any info specific to poultry ) ... I will have a look through the veterinary conference proceedings and see if I can find something there though orthopedic info is scarce on the net.

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you, Diana. Till we can come up with something better, he'll get his vitamins, extra protein, massages and heat therapy on his back. Not much else I can think of to do-it's what they'd do for my husband, in addition to pain meds. A little plain aspirin in his water, alternating with the vitamins, is what we're giving him for that. Time, as you said, may be our best medicine with this one. He's pretty much restricting his own movements, but I'm not going to allow the hens near him so they won't hassle him and he's not tempted to flirt.

 

[chickenzoo]

I wonder If you can use a ten's unit on a bird? It helps relax muscles and can often be found second hand pretty cheap. If you kept it on real low he might get to like it. Helped with my back. I think streching exercises might help too, keeping muscles flexable so they don't ball up.

 

[speckledhen]

We have one of those, strangely enough; it belonged to my MIL before she passed away. The problem is that you have to know where to connect it, and that would be hard to say on a chicken.

 

[dlhunicorn]

I do hope you have removed the roost...an out of the blue question> are you absolutely positive that he has not possibly dislocated (or partially dislocated) a joint or hip as a possible consequence of the fall off the roost? (chickns have such weak legs after all)

 

[speckledhen]

There is no roost where he is, Diana, just a bed of shavings in the floor. We'll recheck his hips today when we do his massage. We did find one of those infared heat therapy bulbs in the closet you mentioned so we can use that today, too.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I was just joking with my SIL about giving a back rub, using bengay and an icepack on Penny...maybe I wasn't too far off...I have picks of Penny's hip too...finally.

My SIL also suggested Reiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiki

 

[beefy]

yeah i was thinking that its weird for him to have hurt his back in the fall b/c you said he didnt land on his back. he landed on his legs right? i guess he could have thrown it out struggling to catch himself though but looks like it would be more tolerable for him by now. Cyn, if anybody can fix a broken roo its you.

 

[speckledhen]

I dunno, Beefy. I'm losing confidence in my ability to do much of anything right at the moment. After losing Hawkeye, now I have Zane losing ground, a Welsummer chick dying who refuses to eat or drink (never lost a chick before, ever!), a SLW hen acting like she has an egg problem similar to the one that took her sister, and another hen with a possible broken toe. Things aren't as rosy as they usually are around the Chicken Asylum.

Let's just hope I don't lose my broody Olivia for some reason.