Injured chick advice needed please

[Shabana]

Hey all so all is well with Pudding and she is now limping (pretty badly but progressing). She has grown a lot and I believe she will be able to live a very full life I would love for her to be part of a flock but am unsure how to proceed. I'm thinking to give her another week and then I have a 'poorly' coop with a very small run underneath which I can lift into one of the large pens. This will enable them to see her and vise versa but not be able to get to her. My worry is that now temps are dropping she will not be able to stay warm enough. Do I pop a couple of say silkie chicks (virtually same age) in with her ? Do I keep her in the house till spring ? (That would be tricky as I also have 2 cats).
Any advice would be very gratefully received xx

 

[Shabana]

Ok so I decided to take action seeing as the weather is only going to get worse and Pudding needs to be able to interact with chickens and have the chance to be a flock member.
I took her to my baby pen and got the poorly coop sorted for her.
She can have a few hours up there chatting chicken gossip and at bedtime I will pop a couple of silkies in with her and then that should solve the warmth issue.

In the morning the silkies can roam with the flock and Pudding can have the run to herself. I thought I could go on like this for as long as it takes for me to be sure she can move fast enough to get out of the way should she need to ?

I can't stress enough how much she means to me. I love them all - to me they are just like my family so please say if you have any ideas or suggestions.
I came back home and went upstairs into the spare room where she's been staying, saw her teddy and shed a few tears (I'm such an idiot) I really want her to have the best life she can but I miss her already !

 

[Shabana]

She caused quite a stir with the other girls I have 12 chicks in this pen 2 hens that raised them and a pair of sablepoots (man and wife) who are inseparable.

It's horribly muddy at the mo but she has shavings down so she's dry underfoot.

I should probably add that this is only showing a very small part of their pen and although muddy at the mo due to our wonderful British weather :/ the girls have a straw covered area and lots of outdoor roosts available to them

 

[deacons]

Just found your thread and am pulling for Pudding! Can't wait to follow her progress.

 

[Shabana]

Thank you !! I hope someone comes along soon and says "yes do that" or "do this too" !!

 

[Kyzmette]

I think you're doing the right thing. She needs to be somewhere the other chooks can see her so they can adapt to her, but out of pecking reach. The silkie chicks will help keep her warm, and she will adapt to the temps. Chickens get depressed without company, so she'll do much better having other chickens to socialize with. In a couple of weeks let her out to range with the other chicks while you monitor how the hens treat her. A few days of babysitting should be enough unless you have some aggressive dominants in your flock. Most of the time a display of who is boss is enough.

 

[MuranoFarms]

I don't think warmth should be much of an issue...if I have the timeline right, she's about 12 weeks old now? That being said, while she probably doesn't need them...she probably likes having the silkies in with her for company and as long as they get along I would continue to let her have her friends and be near the others while gaining her strength!

Great job in taking care of her so far. I am just like you...I may have 90 birds and hatch hundreds of chicks every year...but I have to give each one my best try when it comes to saving them! I'm so glad she cried out that night and found you!

~L

 

[Shabana]

Oh thank you kyz, feel so much better after reading your post. I came away from the pen and she was just sitting down and I was thinking will she eat and drink ? Is she cold ? Is she scared ? And I felt like the worst chicken mum in the world hehe !!

Feel better now thank you
I will help her up the ramp tonight and sort her out some silkie insulation and of course her teddy

 

[Shabana]

Thank you Muranofarms !

I think for the first week or so I will prob put the silkies in just to roost as the run is pretty tiny and let them out into the pen in the morning, but once she's not limping so badly I have a larger run I can attach which will be better for guests while they get used to her

Love that you do the same even though you have so many - means a lot.
Thanks again x

 

[Kyzmette]

The first time I read that chickens get depressed, I was like "WTH?" But it's true. I see it whenever I have to isolate a chicken because of wounds. They're flock birds, they NEED flockmates. The companionship of the silkies will do so much good for her. If you actually kept them together instead of taking the silkies away to free range, they'd form flock bonds and likely continue to flock together once you put them with the rest of your birds. As odd as it sounds, chickens can form pretty fast "friendships" as long as you don't separate them. Once you separate them, it's like they have to rebuild the pecking order.