Chicken crushed - I've found help, but always accept more

NonnieBuns

In the Brooder
Apr 19, 2023
13
12
26
My chicken was crushed last night by a piece of wood falling on her, then all of the chickens standing on the wood, and then me standing on it. I had no idea that the chicken was under there as I didn't see the incident happen and was trying to shoo the chickens off the board so I could pick it back up. When I lifted the board my heart was broken and I thought she had died, until she started fluttering a bit. I brought her inside and Googled "my chicken has been crushed" and came across this thread from 2013 https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/urgent-crushed-chicken.818679/page-3#post-26759544

I followed the advice in this thread, giving Chicken Nugget sugar water thrive a dropper, set her up in our old brood box with a towel for comfort and a heart lamp for warmth since she would be alone, and water and food. Chicken Nugget is about 2.5 months old, so she's still on developer crumbles, but I added some freeze dried mealworms, and oregano to help stave off any potential infections. I'll be picking up some arnica today, hopefully, too help with bruising and any potential internal bleeding.

Within minutes of getting the sugar water, Chicken Nugget was more alert and acting/looking better. I checked on her this morning and she's standing. Still a little lopsided and not exactly sure footed, but she was chirping, was eating, and pooped (I was surprised that she hadn't pooped all night - should I be concerned?). I'm keeping her separated inside for at least two more nights so she can heal more. Any other tips or advice would be much appreciated.

Also, I know people will suggest a vet, and I agree, but the only person that sees chickens in the area refuses to help me because my dog beat hers at an UKC show a year or two ago and because my son's rabbit beat hers at the county fair in one of the divisions last year, and the last running the show held her to the save time and standards as everyone else and I supported that. The vets out here are very "common pets only" despite this being a heavy farming and homesteading area, even our rabbit is considered an "exotic animal" and we had to find a special vet to see her.

Thanks in advance!
 
Wow! She's a miracle survivor. Sort of like finding a live victim of an earth quake under a ton of rubble. The only thing I can think of is that the plank equalized your weight on the board and perhaps she had a pocket of air in the uneven ground to keep from suffocating.

You are doing all the correct things, treating for shock with the sugar water was the most important thing. I would urge you to keep up what you're doing, and it sure appears this gal has a good chance of recovering.
 

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