Yay for the Chicken!!! Yay for you !!! Buttercup, my Sicilian Buttercup, was found between the wall and the feed bin (not sure how she managed that one- space is only a few inches). When I found her, the temp was -4 degrees, and she was sprawled out with her legs behind her and head down. She looked dead. I had to scoot her out carefully, she didn't even cluck (6.5months old). Her feet were extremely cold, she didn't move her toes, she had 2 2inch gashes on either side of her tail feathers (I think she was trying to get out somehow?), and she was bloodied. But she blinked.
I took her inside, massaged her feet. For the first few days, she didn't eat and barely drank. I massaged her legs for those days and put tea tree oil on her wounds. on the 3rd day, she then began to sit up, looked like a penguin. When she started eating, I gave her yogurt and her favorite fruit-tomatoes, collard green snippings and her regular feed. On the 5th day she was walking but made such a racket because she was unable to really lift her legs fully and still looked like a penguin. I had her with me during the day by my side and at night i had made a place for her in my bed room. On the 7th day she amazed me by trying to fly up to my bed. Didn't make it on the first few attempts, but none the less she made it. After that success, she took to flying up to my bed to sleep on a pillow next to my head. She was beginning to not walk much like a penguin put her right foot seemed to be turned in and she would favor that leg, she would stretch her legs ever so gently; she looked like she was doing chicken yoga.
Today, 2.5 weeks later, she is almost fully recovered, she has her own place in the house to stay but she perches on a crutch above my curtain rods at night, her wounds have healed, she eats like she would have normally and seems to be ready to go outside and join the others. I will have her roam with them during the day if they dont peck at her. However, I am going to wait until the -22 degree f day passes so not to put too much stress on her to keep her warm. Currently, i have a light brahma, ghostrider, next to me because 5 days ago she wasn't really moving in the coop like she had been. I took her in the house. In the light of the house, i saw the most hideous wound on her back. All the feathers were away from her tail feathers and back and she had been badly pecked at. She also had bald spots on her head and missing feathers on her neck ( the missing neck feathers had been an issue for several weeks now which i have yet to still figure out why they are missing-the roo in the coop is agressive but this chicken didn't like him) Anyway, I noticed that her left joint was really swollen. after cleaning the blood from her back, some of her skin had been torn. It is now day 5, she eats and drinks on her own, her wounds on her back are scabbed over, and she is 'perkier'. At first she wouldn't move at all, today, she is stretching out her feathers and I do chicken physical therapy for her
I found with Buttercup, there is a youtube video she liked which i also play for ghostrider. you can see it if you type in freds fine fowl youtu.be/t7M3WbIemi4. they seem to be comforted by the sounds of their 'kind'.
With all the great strides i witnessed with Buttercup: every blink, every stretch, every attempt to move, then walk, with every day, i was encouraged. I looked for any sign of hope. Same with ghostrider, i look for any sign of improvement
