Frostbite, lost both feet - My hens story

[ChristinaMay]

Thanks for starting this thread to help others that deal with frostbite. Great pictures of the progression. Also a good reminder that small coops can be turned over in severe windstorms. So scarry.

Of course, happy to! The way the coop flipped, it was actually airborne and did a 180 degree turn (could tell by the way it landed on the fencing), and it weighs at least 1 ton (it’s an 8x8x10 built with 2x6’s). I was in shock that it actually flipped. I put all of my chickens in the barn now with the ducks when we are expecting a severe wind (we had 75+mph winds that night). Definitely better safe than sorry!

 

[glassdragonfly]

Wonderful story! So glad Peg made it. Maybe some prosthetic feet?

 

[micstrachan]

Thank you for sharing! Great job and gooo, Peg!

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Thanks for sharing this. Peg is very lucky you were able to give her so much special care. Can I ask, What happened to your other chickens in the coop that overturned? Were they OK? Also what modifications did you make to the coop to help stabilise it after that? I always worry about my coop and run in heavy winds.

 

[Callender Girl]

Many people would have just put her down. Peg is lucky you didn't give up on her, and she's showing her gratitude by giving you eggs!

Love the video with the prosthetic rooster feet! Wonder if someone at the University is looking for another 3D project?

 

[ChristinaMay]

Thank you all for the nice comments!

Wonderful story! So glad Peg made it. Maybe some prosthetic feet?

I actually have a coworker that has a friend in college that wanted to try some prosthetic feet for her! I’ve done a lot of research on them and am worried about making it more difficult on her and myself. She gets around so good in her coban wrap shoes, I’m not sure I want to put her through learning to walk again! They are neat though!

 

[ChristinaMay]

Thanks for sharing this. Peg is very lucky you were able to give her so much special care. Can I ask, What happened to your other chickens in the coop that overturned? Were they OK? Also what modifications did you make to the coop to help stabilise it after that? I always worry about my coop and run in heavy winds.

All of the others were ok, just shook up. I had an open horse stall thankfully so they moved into there until we could get the coop turned back over and fixed. My property is on a shale bed, and so so so wet all year round, so Getting posts into the ground has been a huge challenge. My husband ended up digging a trench about 1’ deep to set the coop in, and I have wooden ladders in the ground leaning on the coop on all 4 sides to act as perches and braces. It’s definitely much more stable now, but we get some crazy gusts where we live, so I still move them into the barn when we are expecting bad storms just in case.

 

[aart]

I actually have a coworker that has a friend in college that wanted to try some prosthetic feet for her! I’ve done a lot of research on them and am worried about making it more difficult on her and myself. She gets around so good in her coban wrap shoes, I’m not sure I want to put her through learning to walk again! They are neat though!

I wonder if just a silicone 'cap' would work well. To protect her stump end and be easier to clean and take off/put back on?
Those feet in the vid are pretty cool, but am betting they don't flex enough where leg meets foot.

 

[ChristinaMay]

I wonder if just a silicone 'cap' would work well. To protect her stump end and be easier to clean and take off/put back on?
Those feet in the vid are pretty cool, but am betting they don't flex enough where leg meets foot.

A cap would work if there was a way to keep it on. She just has stumps so bending isn’t an issue, but she does try to scratch with them sometimes and anything that wasn’t fitted perfectly would come off. I tried putting loose bandages on her once and she had them off in minutes, she’s clever lol

 

[aart]

A cap would work if there was a way to keep it on. She just has stumps so bending isn’t an issue, but she does try to scratch with them sometimes and anything that wasn’t fitted perfectly would come off. I tried putting loose bandages on her once and she had them off in minutes, she’s clever lol

The bending I referred to was on the 3D printed & silicone feet.
Wonder how they attached?
Yeah, not sure how to keep caps on either, if they were tight enough might be hard to get off and/or create suction.