Chickens are very resilient creatures. A few months back I got a call from my dh who was at work. He has a friend who rescues dogs and he had called looking for advice b/c his dogs had found a chicken. He was upset and didn't know what to do (this guy is an animal nut) He knew nothing about chickens. We arranged to pick up the hen the next day. He took her inside to a warm dry place and cleaned her up and applied neosporin. She was in rough shape, she couldn't walk, she had multiple puncture wounds, but her eyes were still very active and responsive. I got her the next day and babied her in the same way, a few days later she was doing a little better so I put her in my nursery pen with some of my adolescents, she was still limping, I didn't know if she would ever walk right again. Today she is perfectly healthy, her feathers have grown back in perfectly, her limp is gone and he is a beauty. She is a little skiddish, but I think she was abandoned and wild to begin with. Anyway, my point is, she was in rough shape, and within a few months she was perfect.
