Caring for a Paralized Chicken, Maybe a Wheelchair?(She's Walking!!!!)

[Tracy the chick]

Quote:
Well done you... You have given hope to others! I got my husband to put my chicken to sleep as she was paralised too.. I could cry now after reading this... Your a good person and dont let people tell you other wise...Well done..xxx

 

[ChickenPeep]

Quote:
Well done you... You have given hope to others! I got my husband to put my chicken to sleep as she was paralised too.. I could cry now after reading this... Your a good person and dont let people tell you other wise...Well done..xxx

X2!

 

[un-named]

Quote:
X2
The only question here is if the OP TOLD the chicken she is now disabled and put in the spotlight for being culled....the hen may not realize she is disabled and thinks she is just 'dealing with life' here.

 

[un-named]

Quote:

......and a

to those who wanted her culled NOW without giving you that time to work with her.

 

[rcentner]

you said you used a sling....do you have a photo of that? I need to help my little hen with a bad left leg who can't walk

 

[artsyrobin]

Quote:
can you give some specifics? each case is always different, sometimes they recover sometimes not, but it is always worth the effort to try, as you have seen my story of Jewel, i had a silky with issues, he never walked perfect but could get around, tried to save a guinea keet, but it didn't work as how they are structured - so we eventually did put him down as he was in so much pain- it is always worth the try.

 

[rcentner]

Quote:
can you give some specifics? each case is always different, sometimes they recover sometimes not, but it is always worth the effort to try, as you have seen my story of Jewel, i had a silky with issues, he never walked perfect but could get around, tried to save a guinea keet, but it didn't work as how they are structured - so we eventually did put him down as he was in so much pain- it is always worth the try.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=595413

this is my thread on her. I saw your case and I am very interested in what you did to recover your hen. Why are all the leg posts left leg lameness? Is there a common thread there or coincidence I wonder

 

[BlueEggBetty]

I am actually very glad you wrote this post! As I have been struggling mentally with my decision to keep my little Americana going. She is stiffed-legged but moves her feet every now and then! So I have hope and confidence that in time she will at least get back on her feet. I know she won't be 100 percent, but I also do not think she has been suffering through her rehabilitation. Pakoa is my pet, just like my little weenie dogs that attacked her. People think that I am crazy to pay the vet bills, but it has been worth it.

 

[taizen living]

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 . Also, she has the immerging thread like beginnings of new feathers coming in on her head and some places on her neck.

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 Be encouraged with those moments of improvement. Love goes a long way

 

[Sparkling]

I have the most wonderful news!!!! She's walking now!!!!

About 5 days ago she started walking. She has been slowly regaining the ability to walk and now she's able to walk a bit better. She is no longer in the sling, but has her own cage and she stands for most of the day now. She can walk across the cage and back before needing a rest. She limps a little on her left leg, which was the bad one originally, but is able to walk to the food and water by herself now. She gets out on sunny days in a dog pen in the grass and i put another hen in to keep her company.

Her daily diet is, one scrambled egg each morning, some grapes, oranges, or whatever I have, and her regular layer pellets. I didn't change her diet much, since this is what I feed the rest of my chickens, aside from the egg. I use a regular chick waterer for her that I put up on a brick to make it easier for her to reach in her cage.

Now that she is out of the sling she doesn't need the baths anymore and keeps herself cleaner. I still get her out each day and let her run around the house a bit while I clean her cage. I noticed that after a while her droppings began to return to a normal consistancy and her vent stayed much cleaner.

To those of you out there with a similar situation, don't be too quick to give up on them, you will find that their determination and will to live is very strong. It was not really as much work as everyone seems to think. Her care took me, perhaps 45 minutes total daily while she was in the sling. No more than any of my other chores around the farm and was well worth it.

Wonderful!
Thank you for taking the time to post this. It gives encouragement to me also, as I am trying to care for an injured or sick chicken that can't walk. I'm trying to figure out how to build a walker/wheelchair/mobility device for her so she doesn't lay on her side all the time. I tried a sock sling and my first rendition is not fantastic, but she is able to eat easier now. It worked well enough to encourage me to try again and come up with something better.
Anyway, thank you for posting your success. So many people are quick with the "kill it!" advice that I just about don't want to come to these forums any more. If I wanted to kill her I wouldn't come asking for advice on how to save her, you know? So thank you so much for enduring and posting the good news. God bless you and your pets!