It is likely more common than we know, especially since the vast majority of cases never get reported on BYC, or anywhere else for that matter. . Chicken amputees are either immediately euthanized, or left to hobble along on their stumps as best as they can.
It would be Soooo awesome if you are able to help. My intuition says it would be best to have a bird fitted for prosthetics as soon as possible after the stump(s have healed. Here are photos of the reason why.
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Fourteen months after her frostbite injuries, my hen has learned to rebalance herself when she stands and walks by making herself new flat "foot pads" on her shanks. She does Not stand on the ends of her shanks where the feet detached. This is structurally not a good thing, and may eventually cause compensatory injuries to her hocks, hips, etc. But since my hen is now 6 years old and is a large-breed hen weighing seven pounds, I've made the decision to not order prosthetics for her, which would force her to relearn to walk all over again. (However, If I knew of a place near me to at least get an exam/evaluation for her, I would do it in a heartbeat.)
@NBraun2624 , there are some sellers on Etsy that make 3D feet for a very cheap price. One popular site includes photos of people holding a bird in their arms that are wearing prosthetics, and also a few pics of birds standing on the ground. But the two video links that supposedly show birds walking don't work. Several months ago I called and left a vm with the company that I was interested in purchasing prosthetics, but had some questions first. I never heard back. The Etsy sites may be a good option; I just haven't yet seen the evidence. There are also past threads on byc where people made prosthetics for their chickens. In all the cases i saw, the bird only lost one foot.
If you are able to have prosthetics made (or make them yourself) for Betsy, please post your sucess here on her thread! It is yes very tragic she will be a double amputee. But with a little extra care from you, she will be ok. Btw I forgot to mention that once her stumps are healed and kept wrapped, they still need to be unwrapped weekly, checked to make sure all is well underneath, then rewrapped. If you get prosthetics for her, you will be the first person I've seen that will be knowledgeable on stumps care using prosthetics. Go Betsy go!
To close, my hen resumed laying eggs last summer. Once Betsy's injuries have healed, she should resume laying too. How old is she?
