This is a picture of Dottie. She was a cross White Leghorn and Silkie although she displayed mostly the leghorn traits. When Dottie was 4 weeks old she developed a degenerative muscle problem in her left leg and was unable to walk she got around mostly by hopping and using her wings to mover herself around, now most of the chicks in her batch are scared to death of everyone and would run if you approached them, of course Dottie couldn't so I had no problem picking her up. At first she found it unsettling but soon came to enjoy the attention and care. My wife would hold her in her lap while watching tv and she would sleep for hours. The one thing that really impressed me was her rosolve to not let her dissability get her down. She tried so hard and always made happy peeps. I started a regimen of taking Dottie out of the pen and go "bug hunting". I'd turn over old logs or look in some brush and she would tear into anything that moved, her favorite was termites. We did this 3 times a day and she really pigged out on some good stuff. She so looked forward to our hunts that she would literally fly across the pen to greet me and would cry when I put her back. After about 2 weeks Dottie started showing remarkable improvement, 3 weeks and she was walking as normal as the rest of the chicks but her growth was stunted and she wasn't as fast. She became so close to me that she would fly up on my lap and then up to my shoulder as if she wanted be as close as possible.
After all the chicks were about 6 weeks old I would let them free range for a few hours a day but keeping a close eye on Dottie since she would be an easy target for a hawk. She loved free ranging with her sisters and brother but always expected me to take her on our special hunts. After a while my time was needed elsewhere and I let Dottie free roam with the other chicks just checking on them from time to time , one day I had to run inside and answer the phone and was occupied for about 30 mins. When I came back outside I only saw 4 of the 7 chicks and they appeared terrified. I searched for the other 3, including Dottie, and could find any sign of them, then 2 others shot out from under some brush and beelined it for their pen and coop but no Dottie. I called my special call that always brought her flying to me but after searching for an hour I felt my heart sink into my gut when I pieced it together. A hawk had found Dottie. There were no feathers or any sign of her which would probably be the case if something on the ground got her. I'm not normally an emotional person but I have to admit I had tears streaming as if I had lost my own child. A terrible lesson learned. Dottie gave me more from her heart in her short 2 months than a lot of people I've known for years. Dottie will always be special.
After all the chicks were about 6 weeks old I would let them free range for a few hours a day but keeping a close eye on Dottie since she would be an easy target for a hawk. She loved free ranging with her sisters and brother but always expected me to take her on our special hunts. After a while my time was needed elsewhere and I let Dottie free roam with the other chicks just checking on them from time to time , one day I had to run inside and answer the phone and was occupied for about 30 mins. When I came back outside I only saw 4 of the 7 chicks and they appeared terrified. I searched for the other 3, including Dottie, and could find any sign of them, then 2 others shot out from under some brush and beelined it for their pen and coop but no Dottie. I called my special call that always brought her flying to me but after searching for an hour I felt my heart sink into my gut when I pieced it together. A hawk had found Dottie. There were no feathers or any sign of her which would probably be the case if something on the ground got her. I'm not normally an emotional person but I have to admit I had tears streaming as if I had lost my own child. A terrible lesson learned. Dottie gave me more from her heart in her short 2 months than a lot of people I've known for years. Dottie will always be special.
