Catherinemae86
In the Brooder
Hi everyone. I've returned with more semi feral chicken trouble and desperately need some help and advice! One of the local hens, Jessica, likes to raise her babies in my yard. They are about 3 weeks old and adorable! Unfortunately, yesterday I realized one of the chicks was missing and assumed it was lost to a hawk. Well, to my surprise, at 7:30pm my neighbor showed up at my door with the missing chick in his hands! He told me his dogs (2 small Chihuahua type dogs) had it.
He was clueless as to how or how long or any details. Simply that they have a blanket outside for the dogs and it was chirping on it. Initially I didn't notice any wounds or blood and decided to stick them in the nest box under Jessica hoping all was okay.
As is probably obvious because I am here asking for help, it wasn't all okay. When I went outside in the morning, her chick was limping or hopping around and laying down frequently. I honestly didn't pay close enough attention to see if they ever put weight on the injured leg. I brought the baby inside and discovered a bit of blood and swelling on their left leg. They are not putting any weight on it since I brought it inside. It is also not like some of the pictures I've seen and bent in a weird or wrong direction.
They were hiding under the teddy bear in their box, so I decided to steal another chick to keep them company. Another hen has a few babies and I noticed one seems blind(?!) and much smaller than the others (I will save those questions for after I deal with the current chick's injury). Once I brought them a friend, they have been eating/drinking/pooping like normal.
I've been reading about slipped tendons, slings, splints etc and I am in over my head. I've attached a couple of pictures of their leg. Because they are pretty feral, I've never held them before today and they aren't really enjoying it. I don't want to do anything to make it worse so I didn't try doing any manipulations of that leg. Hopefully the picture is enough to tell me what to do. The descriptions for fixing a slipped tendon sound dreadful to do myself
.
I'm also worried about the recovery time and how long I have to keep them separated from their group. Jessica has been trying to get everyone in the tree to roost and there is no way I can prevent that girl from doing what she wants.
Thank you!! And I'm sorry this post is probably rambling. I'm very mentally and physically exhausted! I'm also sorry my nails are so bad in the pictures. It is a good indicator of how exhausted I am with life!
He was clueless as to how or how long or any details. Simply that they have a blanket outside for the dogs and it was chirping on it. Initially I didn't notice any wounds or blood and decided to stick them in the nest box under Jessica hoping all was okay.
As is probably obvious because I am here asking for help, it wasn't all okay. When I went outside in the morning, her chick was limping or hopping around and laying down frequently. I honestly didn't pay close enough attention to see if they ever put weight on the injured leg. I brought the baby inside and discovered a bit of blood and swelling on their left leg. They are not putting any weight on it since I brought it inside. It is also not like some of the pictures I've seen and bent in a weird or wrong direction.
They were hiding under the teddy bear in their box, so I decided to steal another chick to keep them company. Another hen has a few babies and I noticed one seems blind(?!) and much smaller than the others (I will save those questions for after I deal with the current chick's injury). Once I brought them a friend, they have been eating/drinking/pooping like normal.
I've been reading about slipped tendons, slings, splints etc and I am in over my head. I've attached a couple of pictures of their leg. Because they are pretty feral, I've never held them before today and they aren't really enjoying it. I don't want to do anything to make it worse so I didn't try doing any manipulations of that leg. Hopefully the picture is enough to tell me what to do. The descriptions for fixing a slipped tendon sound dreadful to do myself
. I'm also worried about the recovery time and how long I have to keep them separated from their group. Jessica has been trying to get everyone in the tree to roost and there is no way I can prevent that girl from doing what she wants.
Thank you!! And I'm sorry this post is probably rambling. I'm very mentally and physically exhausted! I'm also sorry my nails are so bad in the pictures. It is a good indicator of how exhausted I am with life!
