Chicken trouble - I thought she was dead..

I just had an awful scare with one of the girls.
I went outside to help DH do a few things and I happened to look over to where the girls had been digging and making sun beds earlier and there was a chiken laying there all alone. She looked lifeless and as the other girls had gone in because it was starting to get dark I thought OMG she is dead. I didn't run over because the body was so still. I simply thought she had died out there in the sun. If you recall one of the PRs has been ill on and off since she was rescued and I thought it was Dorothy (It was). Well when I got close I realised it was her and my goodness her whole head was jammed into the fence pannel. They had been digging under it and somehow she managed to pop her head under and lifted it up between the planks. I sooo thought she was dead. I dug round her head and managed to get my hands under her and I pushed the head down gently and released her. I really thought her neck was broken. But she started to move her neck and I just cuddled her into myself. I was so worried. I put her down after about 5 mins and she just stood and looked at me like "whats all the darn fuss over?" I went and got all the girls some mealworms and they ate those but Dorothy backed away into the pen. I guess she was a bit shocked. I went and did someother things and went to check on her later. Bertha was Mummying her so I thought that was good as Bertha is very good in a crises! I went inside and got them some bread for supper and tossed it out. Bertha came hobbling out ( remember she had a ligament injury) and little Dorothy came rushing out past her which was really funny and she screached to a hult grabbing a big bit of bread to make up for missing out on the mealworms! I think she will be ok. I filled in the sun whole they had worked so hard on which made me a bit sad and then I put bricks up the length of the fence so hopefully it wont happen again. At least she was sensible enough to realise she was cought and stay still and not struggle. Bless her she must have been there ages thinking - someone will get me, oooooh it's getting dark someone get me PLEASE SOMEONE GET ME!!!!!!

Oes

 

Seems sad to post this now - but just to let you know Dorothy died today in my arms. She had not really recovered from the incident with the fence and as she was already sick with an airway infection this only got worse. She did not do well in the cold wet weather of late and finally gave up in my arms today.

Oes.

 

Thanks
Yes it was hard because she was a little charactor. I knew she wasn;t well and it has not been good for her this winter. I heard her squeal and I think one of the others attacked her because she was weak and that was that really. I felt a bit bad because she was just struggling in mud and I had to go lift her and wash her face but I could see she had had it. She just passed away in my arms. I wrapped her in a warm towel to heat her up and gave her warm water through a syringe also got some vick to try to open the airway but nothing worked. The good thing is that she spent her last days with her friends in the yard where she was always most happy. It was only the last two days that she began to part herself away from the others. I got some Antibiotics in and some more infant vitamins but it was too late as she had already began to fail. So sad for her but then when I look out the window and I see the rains comming in and bitter cold winds I just think the poor critter wouldn;t have liked this anyhow. She much loved the sunshine and there has not been much of that of late. She always got sick in the winter but this year was particularly cruel weather wise and after the thing with the fence it was really a turning point and she went downhill after that.

Oes