I found a chicken on the side of the road

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SkunkShampoo

SkunkShampoo

Hatching
6 Years
Jul 13, 2013
3
0
7
Hi, my name is Shawn and I'm from Eugene, OR.

I came across a chicken on the side of the road the other day. She was kind of laying on her side with one of her legs extended behind her. She didn't seem to be able to move, aside from her head. The sun was already setting and it was getting too dark to ride my bike without lights, so I didn't have time to try to find her owners. I decided her best chance for survival was to take her home and care for her until I can find out what to do next. She seemed to fit alright in a burlap shopping bag and I carried her in that, careful not to give her a bumpy ride on the way home.

Currently, bicycle is my only way of travel and I'm limited by how much strength I have in a day. I do hope to return to where I found her and see if I can't find who she belongs to. I'm sure her owners might be wondering where she is. Right now, I'm trying to find out what I can about chicken diet and what not. I've taken to feeding her with a syringe, which seems to be working.

So, anyways. That's what brings me here.

If I were to go back to the place I found her, her home should not be too far off, correct? I heard rustling in the bushes nearby when I picked her up from the side of the read. I couldn't see what it was, but I was afraid it could be a predator. I'm wondering if it was other chickens in her flock.
 
hmm is sounds like a predator probably took her from her home... or somebody abondoned her she might be paralyzed from back down or she might hve broken her back has she benn eating or drinking or has she been walking? best of wishes for you
 
Greetings from Kansas, skunkshampoo, and
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! Pleased you joined us! Nice rescue on that chicken. Is she doing better? Moving more than just her head? She could have been where you found her for any number of reasons...chickens can cover some ground...or maybe she was being transported by vehicle and escaped. You might post an ad for a lost chicken in her local Craigslist as well as copy and paste what you wrote into the OR thread of the link below - maybe a local will have an idea.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/26/where-am-i-where-are-you

For now, if she is up to eating, chickens sometimes like scrambled eggs - good energy boost and protein. If she doesn't improve and you can't find an owner, the most humane think might be to cull her. Sorry.

Good luck to you!
 
Thanks for the welcome and help!

She's able to move her legs, but doesn't very often. She has shifted around a couple times on the towels I've set her on. I even left the room for a moment, only to see her sitting in the plate of bread crumbs I left her.

Her left claw is curled up. It reminds me of what I'm reading about Mareks... But I have no knowledge of what happened to her.

She won't eat or drink, but she did eat yesterday when I poured water on the bread crumbs. I think she likes the seeds in the crumbs the most. Today, I've force fed her 15ml of plain organic yogurt and maybe 40ml of water with a syringe. She seems to be panting, so I think she might need more. I will try scrambled eggs as well. I do fear I'm not giving her as much as I need to be.

I'll try to leave the decision to cull up to her owners if I can find them :(.
 
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Gee except for road kill the only thing I've found along the road is a penny or dime sometimes. Never a chicken. If she was a victim of predator attack(or car accident) she may still be shocky. If she is kept warm and quiet, I would think she would come out of it about now.

Does she act(cry out) in pain if you examine her leg or spine? Has she taken any water? She might eat watermelon if you had any and get fluid from that.you could also try some mashed boiled egg yolk moistened with plain yogurt . I realize with only a bike for transportation you may not have any of these things at home unless you eat them on a regular basis. You do the best with can with what you do have.

If you had a photo of her someone might be able to ID her breed, and by her posture (leg out, etc.) determine what could be bothering her. You could post photo & details on the "emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures " thread - more experienced people monitor that and could give you better advice. Good luck to you both. You are very kind to take her in .
 
She may very well have fallen from a poultry transport vehicle while on the way to being processed. Good luck with your attempts to help her. Have you tried offering her some bird seed?
 
I think... After talking with family and giving it a lot of thought, I'm going to have to put her down.

My brother pointed out that the chicken is "broken", and I didn't realize how badly at the time. I thought he meant how her claw is curled and she leans to one side...

But today, I was cleaning the build up of poop from her vent when I noticed her bone on her belly is bent pretty badly. Then I noticed her leg doesn't seem to be in joint... At least from what I can tell. This is a lot worse than I thought.

From what I understand, loss is part of raising chickens. Odds are, the owners may have just culled her on the spot. I would rather not be the one making this decision. I really would rather it didn't go down this way, but the chicken is probably experiencing pain 24/7.

When I first saw her on the side of the road, I considered that taking her in would be the more humane thing to do rather than leaving her to die. I really don't like the concept of death. Now I'm stuck with the realization that ending her life is probably more humane than keeping her alive in this condition.
 

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