I have been trying to build a chicken coop/run by myself for 6 chicks I bought, but my help has been minimal. Hubby had to have major knee surgery. Kids couldn't make the trip to help. So, our little chicks have been getting put in progressively bigger and bigger tubs to serve as brooder boxes. We (I say we...my hubby has been trying to help when he needed to be recuperating), and we thought the end was in sight.
What we didn't foresee, however, was my ending up in the hospital. During the weeks I've been working on this chicken coop, the heat had been hitting the high 90s and 100s. Even though I was drinking a ton of water, my body was slowly building up a toxic amount of one of my medications.
Last Monday, I ended up in ER, thinking I was having a stroke. The doctors all thought the same thing. When they finally pinpointed the culprit, it was just a matter of rehydrating me. It was a process that was painful and frightening. I was diagnosed with TIA and acute kidney injury. Doc said if I had waited, I could have died from renal failure. Yeah, that put the scare in me.
I spent 4 days in the hospital. So, while I was out of commission, my youngest daughter, who is developmentally disabled, had been caring for the birds the best she could since my husband wasn't able to walk with the crutches in the area where we've been housing the chicks. She was doing her best, and I was simply not coherent enough to even remember I had birds for a couple of days.
She fed and watered them nicely. However, she wasn't cleaning out the poop or adding any pine shavings. So, now I've got two birds with crooked, broken-looking toes. I think it's just because of the slick surface, not vitamin deficiency. What do I do to fix it? I tried, much to my cockerel's dismay, to splint his feet with some thin cardboard and tape. It's adequate for now, but there's got to be something better than what I've accomplished so far. I still need to redo one of his feet, and I have a pullet with one foot like that.
I have to say, though, turning that ornery bird on his back has made him the most docile he's been since I first suspected his gender.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. I am going to head out for some of the stretchy vet tape.
What we didn't foresee, however, was my ending up in the hospital. During the weeks I've been working on this chicken coop, the heat had been hitting the high 90s and 100s. Even though I was drinking a ton of water, my body was slowly building up a toxic amount of one of my medications.
Last Monday, I ended up in ER, thinking I was having a stroke. The doctors all thought the same thing. When they finally pinpointed the culprit, it was just a matter of rehydrating me. It was a process that was painful and frightening. I was diagnosed with TIA and acute kidney injury. Doc said if I had waited, I could have died from renal failure. Yeah, that put the scare in me.
I spent 4 days in the hospital. So, while I was out of commission, my youngest daughter, who is developmentally disabled, had been caring for the birds the best she could since my husband wasn't able to walk with the crutches in the area where we've been housing the chicks. She was doing her best, and I was simply not coherent enough to even remember I had birds for a couple of days.
She fed and watered them nicely. However, she wasn't cleaning out the poop or adding any pine shavings. So, now I've got two birds with crooked, broken-looking toes. I think it's just because of the slick surface, not vitamin deficiency. What do I do to fix it? I tried, much to my cockerel's dismay, to splint his feet with some thin cardboard and tape. It's adequate for now, but there's got to be something better than what I've accomplished so far. I still need to redo one of his feet, and I have a pullet with one foot like that.
I have to say, though, turning that ornery bird on his back has made him the most docile he's been since I first suspected his gender.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. I am going to head out for some of the stretchy vet tape.
