HELP: Found chicken after a month (pictures now)

[Kie]

TL;DR My chicken has been missing for a month and I found her this morning. Her butt fluff is very poopy, as well, one side seems a little squished but is otherwise not favoring any side and mobility is mostly good. What should I do for immediate care?
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Buff orp hen
9 months old
My chicken has been missing since around November 28* and I found her by completely dumb luck this morning. We had searched for weeks outside the pasture, in the pasture, any nooks or crannies she could wiggle into. We tried to block off the hay bales when the storage was built and before hay was in and room was definitely empty and thought it was very secure and even then i climbed in and around the bales and areas she could have otherwise fallen to no avail. She made a little cave in the loose hay and has been stuck in the dark for so long she probably wasnt making any noise out of fear. I get into the bucket she was behind every 3 days.
We stopped looking about two weeks ago because the foxes moved back in and figured well. If she made it out of the fence shes likely a goner at this point.

Shes very skinny, obviously dehydrated, her legs have some good mobility - a little wobbly but shes gaining her footing quickly. The others accepted her back immediately (i tried to keep her contained but the second I moved the box she bolted out the door.)
Most suggestions are that i should mix some pedialyte with their water to get some electrolytes in her. She went right to her food amd has been probably living off whatever bugs are hanging out in the hay, thrown goat feed, and hay seeds.
Her one side seems a little squished but she doesnt seem to be favoring either side much.

*November 28 is a rough estimate. Its the last message i sent to my husband about still not seeing her but it could have been a week or so beforehand because we usually call each other instead of text. I only texted him that time bc i knew he was on a call and couldnt answer his phone immediately.

We give the goats hay every day too but havent gotten to that side of the barn yet for the bales. It could have been spring by time we got to that side for hay.

 

[Kie]

The mud on her chest is new but her feet were very dark and poopy. Theres some mud on them too but not like her chest

 

[Sally PB]

Wow, gone a month and found! That's incredible. So glad to hear this.

Give her a thorough cleaning. Soak in warm water, work the poop and mud off with your fingers if you have to. Sounds gross, is gross. Wear gloves.

If she is not used to being handled and you can't catch her, take her off the roost at night. Wrap her in a towel to contain her wings so she can't get away. Using a red headlamp is great for going into the coop at night. You can see well enough, but chickens don't see the red light as well as we do, so they don't try to fly away.

If she's skittish and squirmy, keep the lights low and possibly drape a wash cloth gently over her eyes to keep her calm. Keep other stressors low too; quiet, no dogs or kids around. When she's clean, dry her with a hair dryer on low. Most chickens seem to like that. You can put her back on the roost by headlamp too.

Check her over for any wounds, sores, parasites. Check on the side that seems "squished;" feel very gently to see if there are any issues. Chickens might not show pain, so go by how it feels and looks too, not just how she reacts.

Food: If she's eating on her own, that's great. Ditto with drinking. Some Nutridrench in her water won't hurt and can help. If things change and she stops eating or drinking, post again and we'll get you more information to help.

It's great that the flock welcomed her back. Keep an eye out for any change in this, for sure. If she has a wound or is acting weak, they may turn on her. Chicken can recognize weakness in a flock member as a detriment to the entire flock, and kill or drive out the weak member.

Good luck!

 

[Kentucky Fan]

Ditto the advice above mainly some tlc and understand chickens show shock and she may not be normal for a while

 

[Kie]

Wow, gone a month and found! That's incredible. So glad to hear this.

Give her a thorough cleaning. Soak in warm water, work the poop and mud off with your fingers if you have to. Sounds gross, is gross. Wear gloves.

If she is not used to being handled and you can't catch her, take her off the roost at night. Wrap her in a towel to contain her wings so she can't get away. Using a red headlamp is great for going into the coop at night. You can see well enough, but chickens don't see the red light as well as we do, so they don't try to fly away.

If she's skittish and squirmy, keep the lights low and possibly drape a wash cloth gently over her eyes to keep her calm. Keep other stressors low too; quiet, no dogs or kids around. When she's clean, dry her with a hair dryer on low. Most chickens seem to like that. You can put her back on the roost by headlamp too.

Check her over for any wounds, sores, parasites. Check on the side that seems "squished;" feel very gently to see if there are any issues. Chickens might not show pain, so go by how it feels and looks too, not just how she reacts.

Food: If she's eating on her own, that's great. Ditto with drinking. Some Nutridrench in her water won't hurt and can help. If things change and she stops eating or drinking, post again and we'll get you more information to help.

It's great that the flock welcomed her back. Keep an eye out for any change in this, for sure. If she has a wound or is acting weak, they may turn on her. Chicken can recognize weakness in a flock member as a detriment to the entire flock, and kill or drive out the weak member.

Good luck!

Thank you! She used to be very social with us but not right now. Ill have to catch her tonight. Hopefully we regain that trust. Its been chilly so they have a heater in the coop.
We do not have a hairdryer But i can set up a cage in a secluded and warm area in the house overnight.
Shes around the other hens and the silkies right now and theyre not bullying her but keeping an eye on her nonethless.
They have a water warmer bucket - its green and keeps the water above freezing level, so thankfully she wont be going into shock loading up on cold water either.
I mention its green so it may be recognized by yall bc i cant think of the brand right now and am not too focused on the brand with everything else right now LOL

Poopy chicken butts wouldnt be the worst ive had to deal with ty again!

 

[Sally PB]

We do not have a hairdryer But i can set up a cage in a secluded and warm area in the house overnight.

Do your best to get her as dry as possible. Think about sitting around with wet hair... makes you feel cold, doesn't it?

Do you have a hot water bottle you could give her to snuggle with?

 

[Kie]

Do your best to get her as dry as possible. Think about sitting around with wet hair... makes you feel cold, doesn't it?

Do you have a hot water bottle you could give her to snuggle with?

Cant imagine sitting around in wet hair in that part of the body i was going to use the dogs towel to dry her off with and we'll go ahead and get a hair dryer for the animals - i like my hair to airdry so ive not had one in oof 15/16 years? Kinda cold with longhair but i cant stand using a hairdryer on myself

We can get her some warm water bottles - the heat lamp in the coop stays on throughout the day and shes keeping herself to just the coop and run right now instead of in the pasture.
We have more heatlamps we can put up in the area we'll keep her tonight so she stays a little extra warm, too.

 

[Sally PB]

we'll go ahead and get a hair dryer for the animals - i like my hair to airdry so ive not had one in oof 15/16 years? Kinda cold with longhair but i cant stand using a hairdryer on myself

I never use a hair dryer on my hair, either. Go ahead and get one, though. It's great to have for situations just like this.

Think how long it'll last, since you won't use it much.