Little Bit, the chicken who became a house chicken after my horse stepped on it died in my arms last evening. He was 6 weeks old. Remember this was the chick that was a week old when it sustained a broken right hock and broken left foot. I had wrapped it up to stabilize the fracture and brought it into the house to raise. I even took it to the vet in an attempt to get his leg better. He said the main tendon was gone but still wrapped it in an effort to regrow & stabilize the leg. The chick had a great appitite, good attitude, loved his food, daily scrambled eggs etc. Poop was normal, nothing runny etc. He had vitamins in his water and I even got a couple other chicks to keep him company. He was able to get around, but as he grew, the additional weight made moving around difficult. But still he tried to hop, but the left foot that was broken did heal, but it healed crooked. He attempted to balance with his wings, but movement was still hard and he was often just lying around pecking food off the ground. It broke my heart to see him attempting to get around. BUT he was dearly loved. Before bed each day, he settled in my lap for some loving & cuddling. He purred in contentment. Yesterday I took him to the barn and placed him in a holding pen while I worked cleaning stalls. It was nice sunny & warm here in NW Ga. He enjoyed the outing and interaction with the grown up chickens. Just before going to the house for the evening he seemed to start panting, then seemed to seize before finally dying in my hands. Naturally I was crying. I don't know why, but at least I know wherever he is at, I'm hoping he has full use of his legs and is happier now. But while he was here, he was my little love. Funny, you don't think of a chicken as a pet, but he was. I'll miss him.
