Has anyone ever had a one legged chicken? Does anyone know about carts? 3D Prosthetics? I am conside

[RareAvis]

Clearly, this is a radical step.

I am uncertain of how to proceed.

I believe or I'm considering the ethics: If a young chicken is in pain and having difficulty walking, and my vet does not want to become an expert: ie he can no longer try to diagnose him, can a rooster live a happy life with one leg?

I would not hesitate with a dog or cat: YES. They can be QUITE happy and healthy as tripods.


Two legs are different.


I had never been on a farm or met a chicken or seen live chickens before Sadie the Rooster came into my life.

Sadie is about 13-15 weeks old.

I believe she has nerve damage, the result of a canid attack.

I don't believe she will ever walk comfortably on two legs.

I am unsure if a 3D printed prosthetic might help or how much of the leg is unsound.

I do know that penguins and others have been fitted with 3D prosthetics and are quite happy and healthy.


Her left claw, now, 8 weeks after I first laid eyes on her, seems to be lagging behind developmentally, and I do NOT believe this is due to circulation loss or that is all down to atrophy.

Splints do not seem to be helping.

I think?

She can not control her leg well enough and her toes not AT ALL.

She can not use them to grasp or bend.

Her claw hangs rather limply beneath him and his toes alternately close into themselves in various permutations. One may be broken and not healing.

Her claw is not healing and she is having difficulty walking. I don't think she has ANY control over her foot.

At this point, I believe it may be in her best interests to remove the claw, but I do not know how far up an amputation of a limb she has little control of should go.

She CAN move the hip joint or whatever it is forward and backward, I believe.

I am in no-know land, trying to do the right thing, my vet honestly has no idea but is willing to perform a surgery.


HELP.


Thank you!!!



~RA


PS: I just learned that Sadie is a boy.


I am so accustomed to referring to him as a girl that I still mix up my pronouns. I am working on it.


Sadie the Rooster is his new name; he likes his name Sadie so I see no reason to change that simply to conform to some human construct or arbitrary naming convention or societal more.


Sadie seems to be otherwise perfectly healthy.

The claw HAS been SUCH a burden; I think he has been in pain.


This might be his best option for a happy, vital, pain free, functional future.

I do not know.


I live in the middle of nowhere.


I have one Vet.

I am willing to see another but hey? It is remarkably difficult to find chicken experts in ANY state: they are considered commodities, not critters to treat in that they may lead happy, healthy lives.


Sa

die is welcome to stay with me in perpetuity indoors and we do go outside; recently her pain and claw have limited our excursions.


I want to do right by him and help him and be his mommy. I LOVE HIM.


Money is not the deciding factor here: his wellbeing is.

I will go to the ends of the Earth.

Any suggestions?


THANK YOU!

 

[redsoxs]

I typed 'one legged chicken' into the BYC search box and several old threads popped up. You might find some quality of life information about one legged chickens in them. https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=One+legged+chicken
And another search for 'chicken prosthetic' yielded this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/newsearch?search=Chicken+prosthetic
Good luck to you!

 

[RareAvis]

What is he policy on bumping old threads, here?

If I see an old thread that is topically relevant, but I hope to talk to real people and not just read, is it OK to add a comment or Q or should one expect a reply, if old?

I can RESEARCH,

I have access to INFORMATION,

What I seek? Is human beings to talk to.

This is a HUGE decision.


Thank you..

 

[Adalida]

This is what I'd try. Since the vet is willing to do the surgery, go ahead and remove the claw, since that problem doesn't seem fixable. Once the vet is cutting into it, hopefully he'll be able to see if the tissues/muscles/etc of the foot look abnormal or not. If so, cut more off, maybe even the whole foot, but keep the leg. I think a chicken with a peg leg could adapt and get along pretty well, especially since you say she has movement in the hip and can move it back and forth. Animals are amazing at overcoming things, but if the leg can be saved, I think her quality of life will be a ton better. Getting rid of the claw/foot may solve her problems.

 

[Adalida]

Just curious as to how you got Sadie? Did she adopt you?

I'm wondering if her bad leg is actually a result of the bad claw. You know how, if somebody injures their foot, they compensate for the pain by walking differently, and then they start having knee or back problems? Maybe this is what is happening to Sadie. Even if she never gets much movement in the leg, just having it to brace on will help her a lot. For example, when my chickens get ready to fly, they kind of squat down and then launch themselves. If Sadie had even a footless leg, this would be a lot easier than balancing on one leg.

 

[RareAvis]

That's great advice, thank you...




I rescue orphaned or sick or injured kittens and senior dogs and others at times.

Some have been written off: prolapsed anus, for instance; malnutrition. I love them; I heal them; I work with a vet.

I do not claim authority in this area, but I know what works for me, and for the animals whose lives the Universe has seen fit to entrust to me, thus far:

Nutrition and homemade feedings and meals and whole food supplements and Human Grade Species Appropriate Kibble and LOTS OF FISH, FRESH; homemade yoghurt and and oils and yeasts and Balance Moderation and Variety and FULL SPECTRUM phytonutrients and dietary nutrients and flavonoids and protective pigments {fruits and veg in every color, etc.}; the right vitamin and mineral complement and the right source for these, too: form matters; and sun and the River in my backyard and frequent, short walks and tons of cuddles always: these are my 'secrets'.

They've all thrived: every one of them.

My vet and a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and others have shaken their heads in amazement, to be honest.

Often, I've been able to do what they claimed couldn't be done. Not a miracle and not self-congratulatory; just commitment, love, dedication, detective work, the ability to research and understand the medical sciences and biology; knowing WHAT to read is sometimes half the battle, too.

Keeping good notes and sound practices are key to my methods, too: one must be able to link cause:effect.

Really?

It's just observation and harnessing my critical thinking skills and listening to the animals' inner voices and Doing The Right Thing and bonding with creatures who want and need love; becoming both student and teacher; I've been Mother, sister, daughter, playmate, fellow explorer, BFF and fellow kibbutz member {joke} too.

MoGlo, my first, a few years ago?

She taught me: Live In The Now.

What a valuable gift... I'd been suffering. She helped me regain my life and my will and my ability to find joy, despite past pains.

She led by example.

She was my greatest teacher and one of my most beloved companions, ever. I didn't meet her til she was ten; she'd been treated horribly. I had her for only five more years; but? I cherished every moment, and I know that she did, too.

RIP Morning Glory


Sic transit gloria mundi

...


Trauma can impact health status, too; obviously. Safe environments and a home and human beds? In my limited experience? These go a long, long way toward healing old wounds; most: emotional, manifesting physically.

Sleeping with a critter? I find this to be the number one most critical element in all of the non-medically, non-biologically based treatment and/or plain ol' life choices I make. Social animals are not accustomed to or MEANT to sleep alone. This can derail a mind, as well as a body.

These things affect us: hormones, neurochemicals: everything.

Often, cascade reactions ensue: feedback loops, chain reactions.

This often results in a disease state or illness or failure to thrive.

I've never met a critter who had light in their eyes whose system couldn't be rebooted, by giving them everything they needed and sleeping with them and pushing the right nutrition and OBVIOUSLY the right meds but not the wrong or lazy ones, and each in the right way; eliminating cages and solitary confinement and I SWEAR: sleeping in the same bed; this does the trick.


Nothing magical whatsoever. I am not a medical practitioner. I was married to one; so yes: certain skills and instincts might trickle down, but anybody willing and eager and half-way intelligent and loving and not arrogant can learn these.

I have a strong background in nutrition, but not an advanced degree.

I am not a registered dietician.

I am a trained Chef and erstwhile restaurateur {NoHo, MA} and I do know my stuff in this department.

Why do I think this is? I Know there's always more to learn and know and try and be exposed to and think about; I never stop.


Sad to say, but not every professional, in my opinion, is worth their title. It takes WANTING to be the best to approach competing within the top tier in any field; knowing you'll never be the best because that's a myth but that yes: you can be among them if committed? This is what separates competent professionals from functionaries, in my mind.

Drive matters. Personal accountability matters. Professional codes of conduct and codes of ethics matter. Professional affiliations and associations matter. Constant learning matters; following the latest research matters. Drive matters: either you want to be able to handle whatever comes your way, or you don't.

Everything, to me, is about becoming auto-didactic: no amount of schooling or training replaces instinct, drive, curiosity, reading, traveling, talking to others in the know; extending past one's comfort zone; combining various disciplines into one smooth, sound approach: these count for so much after core, initial, fundamental training. Medical school, for instance? Is just the beginning. Great Healers are not forged in classrooms, but in the cauldron of desire.

It disappoints me that he seems less enthused about chickens and seems to be giving up on Sadie.

He just seems to not care; but; that's not what you asked.

I rescue; on my own, just if a critter comes into my life. Sadie did.

The Vet, after splints seemed ineffective, diagnosed gout. I researched. I even tried to treat her, but not with prednisone which I felt might put her at risk for various reasons, and I was not, nor was he, 100% confident in his diagnosis. {I've learned since? Even less than that, on his part. I wish he had been candid with me: that could have saved Sadie a LOT of time and pain and me a TON of frustration, self-doubt, fear, and chasing-my-tail research}

I WILL use medication; many animals I've loved have depended on it. BUt I try to eliminate unnecessary medicines which I feel can mask but not heal; do more harm than good.

Some warehoused dogs have been put on meds because no one ever cared enough to work on diet and nutrition and lifestyle; these I try to get off of or reduce meds: O they do SO much better on great nutrition. Allergies, too: I try to suss: introduce foods slowly. A LOT of health issues are about people being unaware of food, diet, microbiome, evolutionary biology, and similar issues. I like to puzzle these out. I have been able to turn very many around by simple and lifelong diet and feeding schedule changes: bald and on meds to FULL gorgeous coat, eyes, skin, no itchies, no weight gain, no suffering, no prednisone: Perfectly happy and healthy once their bodies got what they wanted and eliminated stuff they didn't and they knew they were loved and somebody's #1 priority.

I am NOT hippie-crunchy-granola: I like Western Medicine. I rely on it, and the Scientific Method. And Love; and I do love.

I Reject most alternative practices.

But diet MATTERS, and most people just don't get or want to get that one, small,simple fact. They might be indoctrinated, or lazy, or just could care less.

I can help; this I know; but Sadie? I AM OUT OF MY DEPTH.

I think KNOWING when to turn to others for help is half the battle. I am not arrogant. I can and do help others with my expertise; in this arena?


I NEED HELP.

I am therefore soliciting as much of it as possible.



I'm not a rescue nor am I affiliated, but I do identify as a 'rescuer'.

I NEVER charge a fee to rehome a critter, EVER; I choose this as the ethical approach and I use only my own money to vet and rescue. I select homes carefully: families with steady, stable lives who I know can afford the best care and have like attitudes and who clearly love animals and to whom their pets are central figures in their lives.


I think rescue can be a racket; I don't trust those who charge for saving or rehoming an animal. Do it for love or do it for profit: the two are inconsistent in my book.

I don't do this often; it is not my 24/7; but I've never turned away a critter in need, ever.

A 'friend' said he had a choice: stewpot or me: eight week old injured chicken.

Of course I took the chicken, and I've been 24/7 learning, reaching out, vetting/ worrying, pulling my hair out, reading textbooks and Industry and various branches of Science {Peer Reviewed} Jounals and Studies and research reports and getting in touch with sanctuaries {not to dump him; to gain advice} and combing through necropsy reports and studying and writing and PTing, and armchair diagnosing and worming and educating myself and cleaning up poop and making meals for a chicken instead of out of a chicken and crying and rallying and loving Sadie ever since.

I'm her only option, and I'm trying to rise to the occasion.

She sleeps with me; we're never apart; or: maybe for ten hours combined since I got her, so? Love Makes A Family.


~RA

 

[Kathy Ray]

We have a chicken who broke her leg, do not know how this happened. ...we splintered it for a couple of weeks, she is jumping ang flapping to get where she wants to go! she even roosts on one leg. She has adapted well!

 

[bantamrooster]

We have a guinea that lost her leg halfway between the foot and knee.
She hops on her one good leg and can keep up and does everything the other guineas do.
I think guineas are a little tougher than chickens but she does really well and hasnt slowed her down at all.

 

[RareAvis]

I'm very interested in this hopping thing.

I've heard abut it with one other rooster, too.

I'm wondering whether I should attempt to amputate based on:

Outcome:

3D Prosthetic

Peg leg

heel, nub, neoprene booty adapted

Not worry really about where, because they really can hop and balance on one good leg & foot and need not to propel themselves forward with a good grasp and 'even' footing

???


THANK YOU


Based on chicken anatomy, any idea how they hop?

 

[Adalida]

I'm guessing that maybe one legged chickens do a lot of flying to get around as well as hopping? Last winter, a few of my chickens that didn't like walking on snow got pretty good at flying pretty fair distances to get around the yard. The reason I was hoping the vet could save her leg, was because I was thinking about how much my chickens absolutely LOVE to scratch (much to the detriment of my landscaping unfortunately!) They're like little rototillers, they love looking for bugs and making dirt baths. I think a chicken could still do this if missing a foot, but not its whole leg.

I'm glad you rescued Sadie and I'm really interested in your update on what you decide to do and how your chicken adapts.