Certified Chicken Lover
Songster
- Oct 15, 2023
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I want to start a thread where people who own disabled chickens can share their experience, a little about their disabled chicken, how their chickens became disabled, and how they take care of them because they are disabled.
I'll start, let me introduce you to my sweet little June June:
June June is a three-and-a-half-year-old Golden Comet (isn't she adorable?!!). June June is one of those chickens who I swear has nine lives! I honestly don't know how this chicken is still alive! She has suffered from fowl pox, bumblefoot, worms, you name it. When she was only a year old she almost got eaten by a fox! Her next big health issue came right before she turned three. I'm sure most of the Golden Comet owners out there know that Golden Comets have a very short life span (2-4 years) because they are susceptible to egg yolk peritonitis and cancer. Well her new norm had been soft-shelled eggs and we had gotten used to her being egg-bound, but one day after finding her egg-bound and going through the normal routine she still hadn't passed the egg. It was the afternoon and she started to get really lethargic so I was trying everything I could think of but she wasn't improving until finally in the evening she passed the rest of the egg (It was a shell less egg). She was still acting very lethargic so I gave her some fresh honey (really if your bird is getting sick and you have bees try giving them some organic honey it really works wonders) and she started doing better after that. She was just getting back to her normal self when I found out she laid a lash egg and then another a few days later. I think because the egg stayed in her so long she got an infection so we started her on antibiotics and the short of the story is she is still alive today! She had been doing really well, but then summer came and we got 100-degree weather every week for about a month and poor June suffered from a heat stroke! I don't know how she survived but suffice it to say with Flock Leader 911 she did! A few days after I had finally readjusted her to the flock I went out one morning to find her lying down in the coop she couldn't walk she was so weak and I realized after further examination she hadn't eaten in a couple of days. Okay I didn't figure this out at the moment but on top of her lethargic behavior she was going blind so it wasn't even like she was sick and didn't want to eat she couldn't find the food, and she was so sick and weak she couldn't even stand. A lot of people were like she is going to die just let her die, but I can't stand to see my baby's suffering without helping them the best I can, so even though I knew she was going to die I decided to bottle feed her so she would be as comfortable as possible before she passed. If any of you have ever bottle-fed a chicken you know how hard it can be..........with my homemade nutrient-rich formula I bottle-fed her 3-5 times a day for like a month........ and I am happy to say all that hard work did not go to waist! She did eventually recover her strength and balance, but it left her almost completely blind. She now lives healthy and happily in a little pen, small enough so she can find her food and water on her own, we make sure she gets enough exercise by letting her out to walk around (supervised of course) and she gets plenty of social time with her other feathery friends (more than she likes I think sometimes
). I know that she probably won't live very much longer, but I'm glad I have this extra time with my sweet feather baby!
I would love to hear all your experiences!
I'll start, let me introduce you to my sweet little June June:
June June is a three-and-a-half-year-old Golden Comet (isn't she adorable?!!). June June is one of those chickens who I swear has nine lives! I honestly don't know how this chicken is still alive! She has suffered from fowl pox, bumblefoot, worms, you name it. When she was only a year old she almost got eaten by a fox! Her next big health issue came right before she turned three. I'm sure most of the Golden Comet owners out there know that Golden Comets have a very short life span (2-4 years) because they are susceptible to egg yolk peritonitis and cancer. Well her new norm had been soft-shelled eggs and we had gotten used to her being egg-bound, but one day after finding her egg-bound and going through the normal routine she still hadn't passed the egg. It was the afternoon and she started to get really lethargic so I was trying everything I could think of but she wasn't improving until finally in the evening she passed the rest of the egg (It was a shell less egg). She was still acting very lethargic so I gave her some fresh honey (really if your bird is getting sick and you have bees try giving them some organic honey it really works wonders) and she started doing better after that. She was just getting back to her normal self when I found out she laid a lash egg and then another a few days later. I think because the egg stayed in her so long she got an infection so we started her on antibiotics and the short of the story is she is still alive today! She had been doing really well, but then summer came and we got 100-degree weather every week for about a month and poor June suffered from a heat stroke! I don't know how she survived but suffice it to say with Flock Leader 911 she did! A few days after I had finally readjusted her to the flock I went out one morning to find her lying down in the coop she couldn't walk she was so weak and I realized after further examination she hadn't eaten in a couple of days. Okay I didn't figure this out at the moment but on top of her lethargic behavior she was going blind so it wasn't even like she was sick and didn't want to eat she couldn't find the food, and she was so sick and weak she couldn't even stand. A lot of people were like she is going to die just let her die, but I can't stand to see my baby's suffering without helping them the best I can, so even though I knew she was going to die I decided to bottle feed her so she would be as comfortable as possible before she passed. If any of you have ever bottle-fed a chicken you know how hard it can be..........with my homemade nutrient-rich formula I bottle-fed her 3-5 times a day for like a month........ and I am happy to say all that hard work did not go to waist! She did eventually recover her strength and balance, but it left her almost completely blind. She now lives healthy and happily in a little pen, small enough so she can find her food and water on her own, we make sure she gets enough exercise by letting her out to walk around (supervised of course) and she gets plenty of social time with her other feathery friends (more than she likes I think sometimes
). I know that she probably won't live very much longer, but I'm glad I have this extra time with my sweet feather baby! I would love to hear all your experiences!
Thanks for sharing her!
