more on Beagle vs chicken

[ochoco]

thank you all for your advice. Clementine seems to be hanging in there but I'm still not sure which way to go! She really can't walk at all on one leg - makes me think its broken. I let her outside for a little while yesterday and she just sat in one spot - very happy to see her one remaining friend - and vice versa. If her leg were broken would she be able to use it at all and is it something that will heal or does she need to be put out of her misery? I'm very new at this! I grew up on a farm but these chickens are my kids pets!!eyeiyeieyiye

The next question is, with the remaining chicken who is fine, we have tried to take her to my sisters who has 5 chickens but they really want nothing to do with her. One chicken in particular is very aggressive towards mine. (and I should say we're still not positive that there isn't a rooster among the lot) If I were to bring home another chicken would I be faced with the same thing? I feel badly for the one remaining as she is obviously lonely and looking for her lost friends!

Any expertise you have is most helpful - thanks!

 

[FarmerDenise]

Last summer one of my hens was "dog-stomped" by another larger hen. The "victim" had actually started the fight. The victim, Zoe must have suffered some bad internal injuries, she could barely walk for many weeks after. But she was such a feisty hen, that we did not have the heart to put her down. We brought her inside to pamper her once or twice a week for a few months. This seemed to help, because she didn't have to go far for food and she didn't have to look out for hawks or chickens. Another words she felt safe and could concentrate on healing. She still has a limp, but gets around just fine. And as a result of all the inside pampering, she has become a lot friendlier. I do help her down from the roost in the mornings though, since she has a hard time landing.
We never did find out just what was broken inside her. It wasn't a legbone, since that would have been easy to feel and I would have put a splint on that.

 

[Momma_Cluck]

splint her leg... keep her and her friend togehter as long as they do not pester each other.

I'd not try to introduce new birds or visa versa-- they can't just be "put together"... they need to be where they can see each other, but not come in physical contact.

We use a wire dog kennel inside the coop for the newcomers for a few weeks-- by then you can just open the kennel door and let them do their thing.