My chick is so lucky to be alive- I was supposed to kill him yesterday

FrankHomestead

Songster
Mar 27, 2017
696
709
211
Michigan
Let me introduce you to: the world's luckiest chick!!! Today this 4 week old cockerel BEAT death!
To really understand the story I need to tell a bit of his history. About 2 weeks ago is the 1st time I noticed his deformed foot with toes pointing the opposite way they should! I immediately confided in chicken owners far more experienced than I am. They said I caught it too late to make a splint for it, a lot of chicks don't survive that but some do and go on to live perfectly normal lives. Alright so I'm keeping an eye on him and hoping for the best.
This morning when I went in the barn for my normal routine, I noticed right away how his demeanor has changed drastically- over night. he just laid there jammed in the corner...no interest in even getting up to eat. I thought well, crap. I tried to make him get up and walk and he acted like his legs weren't working.
Continuously checking on him all day and he never budged. I was mentally preparing myself to euthanize all day long.
I go get him out of the barn and bring him inside, put him in the tub on a towel so I can closely observe him without the distraction of the other animals. He laid there. He would NOT get up. I decided after I go outside to get my boys off the bus, I would come back in and put her down. But as soon as I did come back in, I was greeted by my husband forbidding me to kill the bird. We went back & forth for a few minutes..but it certainly slowed me down by a few hours planting that doubt in my mind.
So I txt my best friend Tara about it to see what she had to say. She agreed that if he is suffering the right thing to do is put him out of his misery. We talked about it quite a while, and I took pics of his feet to send to her. Then I started to closely examine him while taking photos and I had this DUHHHH moment.
He was all kinds of roughed up! Pecked comb, chewed up tail feathers and breast feathers. Absolutely FILTHY! Muddy, crusty tail and breast feathers, streaks of mud through his wings and even back of his head.
It makes total sense and I should have predicted this sort of thing. His hatch mates were attacking him because of his deformed foot- not an ounce of sympathy in the pecking order.
I let him be and kept checking on him to see if anything changes. He slowly became more mobile and vocal. I brought him food thinking it was worth a shot- he GORGED himself like I've never seen, he was starving!! He wasn't not eating because he was dying- he was not eating because his flock wouldn't let him!!
So then my 3 he old and I gave him a bath and got all the crap off..wrap him in a towel and kept him warm till he dried..then put him back in the tub...and he's as good as new again!! No troubles walking and running, chirping loudly, acting like a chicken again.
And to think how close I was to euthanizing him.
My husband saved his LIFE! Had he not given me a hard time, I would've gone straight to the chick and put him down right then.
Tara saved him too! If I didn't start taking pics to send her I may have never noticed all the signs of abuse on him, and I would have still thought his behavior was because he was becoming crippled..and I would not let him suffer.
Sorry so long! But isn't that a cool story?! Man I'm exhausted from all the mental stimulation
So this little soldier has earned himself a NAME!!! None of my other chickens are named. My husband will get a kick out of it too...one of his favorite words to use and knows it drives me nuts!

Damaged. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
20180122_180155.jpg
20180122_180347.jpg
20180122_180710.jpg
20180122_180248.jpg
20180122_201354.jpg
20180122_201419.jpg
20180122_201545.jpg
20180122_201611.jpg
20180122_203720.jpg
 
Glad he is doing better. Explore some ways to keep him from getting bullied or injured again. A large dog crate with food and water within the coop would be a good way to keep him separate. His crooked toe problem may have made him weak and prone to getting picked on. Having more than one rooster usually ends up in them getting hurt. Let us know what happens.
 
We have 1 hen whose toes are all curled in. Same as yours, but curled in on both feet. We got her after she was fully grown so we don't really know if she may have had an injury early on or not. She also had a rough rooster at her last home who tore the back of her neck open and she's permanently bald there now. She moves a little slower than everyone else, but seems to know her own limitations (stays close to cover, doesn't try and get to higher roots, etc). Fortunately, the rest of our girls don't seem to care that she looks a little funny! Good luck with your little guy!
 
We have 1 hen whose toes are all curled in. Same as yours, but curled in on both feet. We got her after she was fully grown so we don't really know if she may have had an injury early on or not. She also had a rough rooster at her last home who tore the back of her neck open and she's permanently bald there now. She moves a little slower than everyone else, but seems to know her own limitations (stays close to cover, doesn't try and get to higher roots, etc). Fortunately, the rest of our girls don't seem to care that she looks a little funny! Good luck with your little guy!
Awww that's good. My flock is brutal to each other uggh
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom