I would not worry too much about Bernadette. I know that is easier said then done, but not only is she recovering very nicely from a injury, she is also growing. That is going to take time. The lack of energy you mentioned in a earlier post out of all 3 of them can be explained by simple them being in the middle of a growth spurt.
It is time to take a walk down memory lane with Butter.
April 20th of last year I came around the side of the house to find Butter unable to stand just outside of Dirt's stall. Dirt was playing with his jolly ball and was kicking out while playing. Due to some bruising that showed up we assume while in play he grazed her with a kick. I rushed her inside and felt no broken bones but it was apparent that she was paralyzed on one side. She could not stand up even with assistance.
Here she is the night the injury occurred.
View attachment 3090629Butter was kept in the house for a little over a week. We thought she may have to be euthanized at first but being mom's favorite hen we had to try to save her. The first few days were rough, bruising turned her bad leg almost black. She was eating and drinking and pooping so there was hope. What we were afraid of was internal injuries that were hidden, but 6 days later she laid a egg. We crushed up baby asprin for pain, she got nightly epsom bath soaks and I would massage that leg and thigh several times a day.
5 days later, with assistance she was able to stand for very short periods. If she tried to take a step she would fall over, but we were heading in the right direction.
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A few days later it was clear depression from missing her flock was setting in and she was loosing interest in eating. She had progressed to taking a few very unsteady steps before sitting down, but she could stand for about 10 minutes at a time. I rigged up a dog crate as a hospital cage to keep her confined but allow the rest of the flock to visit her. Her fighting spirit returned and hourly during the day I would let her out to enjoy the grass and sun. This also encouraged her to try and walk more.
This video was taken on the 15th of May, not quite a full month after the injury. She was still only allowed supervised time out of the hospital cage. I did not want any of the boys bothering her as I was afraid if they had tried to breed her it would cause a huge setback. You can see she's walking, but there is a limp. This limp would persist for about 4 months before it disappeared.
Today a year later, Butter is queen of the flock and runs when she wants to. If you look at her now you would not believe anything had ever happened to her at all.
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