Is it better to let them die?

[Shadrach]

Im so glad Mel is coming along well!
I love when you write, especially about their behaviors with each other.. it's so fascinating to really watch how they interact. And you word it in such a way that it pulls a reader in and gives a beautiful visiual.
Thank for all of your sharing!

Thank you for reading.
Given you like chicken stories I have a book recommendation for you:
The Hen That Dreamed She Could Fly
By, Sun-Mi Hwang

 

[Shadrach]

Have had both staples and stitches in the dog....the staples were much easier for him to pull out, stitches held much better but harder to put in.
My first thought with staples in chickens, if they pull them out and eat them....
....I don't think it would be easy to put a 'cone of shame' on a chicken

I was a bit concerned about the chickens eating the staples. They peck at them but I've not had one get pulled out yet.
They're much more sensible about injuries than I thought they would be. Mel has been cleaning and grooming around the stitches, pulling out the dead feather roots and cleaning off the feathers that had blood on them but so far she hasn't touched the wounds.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Gloria has been a amazing from day one. Bear in mind this is rural Spain and animals are for eating. Gloria told me she has only had one other person bring her chickens to treat.
One Christmas I took her some candle sticks I had made out of wood; just as a thank you, not as payment. I don't think she gets many presents, she was almost in tears.

They do use staples here and generally they haven't worked out that well on the chickens.
I've had some fall out and this of course means the wound stays open longer and that slows recovery. Stitches fail as well. I might ask her about a staple gun though now you've mentioned it.

That is so sweet! She will treasurer those candle sticks!

Thank you for reading.
Given you like chicken stories I have a book recommendation for you:
The Hen That Dreamed She Could Fly
By, Sun-Mi Hwang

I'll deffinetly look for that. Thankyou!!

I was a bit concerned about the chickens eating the staples. They peck at them but I've not had one get pulled out yet.
They're much more sensible about injuries than I thought they would be. Mel has been cleaning and grooming around the stitches, pulling out the dead feather roots and cleaning off the feathers that had blood on them but so far she hasn't touched the wounds.

Awsome!
I never really had a problem with any of mine picking at an injury, only cleaning around like Mel is doing.

 

[townchicks]

Hadn't

My first thought with staples in chickens, if they pull them out and eat them....
....I don't think it would be easy to put a 'cone of shame' on a chicken

Hadn't really thought of them eating them, I just know, that where I worked, we always used anesthesia to do stitches due to discomfort causing wiggling, but could use staples on dogs and even some cats w/o it, without them reacting badly.
FYI, It is actually possible to do a form of elizabethan collar on a bird, you just do a donut out of fabric (a stuffed sock works well), and secure it under the wings.Just for those that may want to know. This works on rabbits too.

 

[Molpet]

I raise for egg and meat...always said I would cull rather than nurse. Well I had an 8wk pullet attacked by a coopers hawk last oct... I was out there processing cockerels, heard the roos alert and seen a flash of brown. I ran out there and the hawk was on top of her, it did fly when I was about 10' away. I scooped her up: unconscious, back of the neck tore up from shoulder to head, and worse of all blood coming out of her mouth and right eye. I figured she was a goner, but put her in my shirt to keep her warm. Might as well make her as comfortable as I could and it freed up my hands. When I got to the processing area, I was going to using it on her, she cheeped. I debated and took her in the house and cleaned her up... figured there wasn't much meat on her anyway.
Put her in a pet carrier under a mama heating pad set on low. She stayed under the pad for a day then came out and ate and drank. Not stable on her feet at all and seemed like she couldn't see out of the rt eye..She sat on the pad for a week and then stayed away from it so I took it out... When she got so she could stand I moved her to a parrot cage in the living room... She spent the winter looking outside and watching tv.
By feb she started to move around more so I would take her outside on nicer days, but she would act cold in 1/2 hr at 45f, so back in she came. The chickens didn't remember her and bullied her anyway.. By april I could leave her out all day if it was in the 60f and not raining.. seemed like she couldn't regulate her temperature,.. She stayed on the fringes of the flock and eventually was tolerated..She would come to the fence when she wanted back in.... by now I wished I had culled her, her sisters were laying and a house chicken was not what I wanted... no way I could cull her now... so everyday i toted this chicken around...
FINALLY in may she started laying, so I could justify her, phew...
One day she didn't come to the fence and went in the coop at night..
she tried to hatch some eggs last month, but she broke most and the rest went bad from the broken ones.. I gave her a chick from another clutch and she is doing fine raising it.
She still doesn't see well out of that eye and balance isn't the best, but she earned a name.. LUCKY

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

I raise for egg and meat...always said I would cull rather than nurse. Well I had an 8wk pullet attacked by a coopers hawk last oct... I was out there processing cockerels, heard the roos alert and seen a flash of brown. I ran out there and the hawk was on top of her, it did fly when I was about 10' away. I scooped her up: unconscious, back of the neck tore up from shoulder to head, and worse of all blood coming out of her mouth and right eye. I figured she was a goner, but put her in my shirt to keep her warm. Might as well make her as comfortable as I could and it freed up my hands. When I got to the processing area, I was going to using it on her, she cheeped. I debated and took her in the house and cleaned her up... figured there wasn't much meat on her anyway.
Put her in a pet carrier under a mama heating pad set on low. She stayed under the pad for a day then came out and ate and drank. Not stable on her feet at all and seemed like she couldn't see out of the rt eye..She sat on the pad for a week and then stayed away from it so I took it out... When she got so she could stand I moved her to a parrot cage in the living room... She spent the winter looking outside and watching tv.
By feb she started to move around more so I would take her outside on nicer days, but she would act cold in 1/2 hr at 45f, so back in she came. The chickens didn't remember her and bullied her anyway.. By april I could leave her out all day if it was in the 60f and not raining.. seemed like she couldn't regulate her temperature,.. She stayed on the fringes of the flock and eventually was tolerated..She would come to the fence when she wanted back in.... by now I wished I had culled her, her sisters were laying and a house chicken was not what I wanted... no way I could cull her now... so everyday i toted this chicken around...
FINALLY in may she started laying, so I could justify her, phew...
One day she didn't come to the fence and went in the coop at night..
she tried to hatch some eggs last month, but she broke most and the rest went bad from the broken ones.. I gave her a chick from another clutch and she is doing fine raising it.
She still doesn't see well out of that eye and balance isn't the best, but she earned a name.. LUCKY

What a story.. Im glad she's doing good and has her own chick! Resilient lil buggers.

 

[micstrachan]

I am enjoying reading this thread very much. I could happily read about Mel, Fudge, Collin and the rest of Tribe 1 (and probably the other tribes, too!) every day.

 

[Shadrach]

I raise for egg and meat...always said I would cull rather than nurse. Well I had an 8wk pullet attacked by a coopers hawk last oct... I was out there processing cockerels, heard the roos alert and seen a flash of brown. I ran out there and the hawk was on top of her, it did fly when I was about 10' away. I scooped her up: unconscious, back of the neck tore up from shoulder to head, and worse of all blood coming out of her mouth and right eye. I figured she was a goner, but put her in my shirt to keep her warm. Might as well make her as comfortable as I could and it freed up my hands. When I got to the processing area, I was going to using it on her, she cheeped. I debated and took her in the house and cleaned her up... figured there wasn't much meat on her anyway.
Put her in a pet carrier under a mama heating pad set on low. She stayed under the pad for a day then came out and ate and drank. Not stable on her feet at all and seemed like she couldn't see out of the rt eye..She sat on the pad for a week and then stayed away from it so I took it out... When she got so she could stand I moved her to a parrot cage in the living room... She spent the winter looking outside and watching tv.
By feb she started to move around more so I would take her outside on nicer days, but she would act cold in 1/2 hr at 45f, so back in she came. The chickens didn't remember her and bullied her anyway.. By april I could leave her out all day if it was in the 60f and not raining.. seemed like she couldn't regulate her temperature,.. She stayed on the fringes of the flock and eventually was tolerated..She would come to the fence when she wanted back in.... by now I wished I had culled her, her sisters were laying and a house chicken was not what I wanted... no way I could cull her now... so everyday i toted this chicken around...
FINALLY in may she started laying, so I could justify her, phew...
One day she didn't come to the fence and went in the coop at night..
she tried to hatch some eggs last month, but she broke most and the rest went bad from the broken ones.. I gave her a chick from another clutch and she is doing fine raising it.
She still doesn't see well out of that eye and balance isn't the best, but she earned a name.. LUCKY

I’m glad you posted the story. It’s especially interesting for me given you state you raise chickens for meat and eggs. That is a very long time to persevere with a sick chicken; I’m not confident that I would have that much patience.

As you point out a chicken kept separate from the group for a long period of time will probably have reintegration problems. Another rule of thumb for me, I haven’t broken this one yet, is the chicken must be able to rejoin the group within 21 to 24 days. I’ve picked this number of days because it’s possible for a hen to be completely separate from the group for this long if she is hatching chicks.
Another factor is the position of the hen in the social hierarchy; the more senior the hen the easier it is for her to reclaim her place.
I don’t really want house chickens or overly human dependant chickens. I’m not reliable like a rooster and one day I wont be there and some disaster will strike. I’ve convinced myself that once a hen has rejoined the group she’s the roosters problem from then on. That’s what I’ve got all these roosters for; to look after the hens…..and to remind me of the unfairness of nature which has made the male chicken the better looking half of the species..

 

[Shadrach]

The picture below is from yesterdays visit by Cillin and Fudge.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

View attachment 1527456 The picture below is from yesterdays visit by Cillin and Fudge.

I love it!!