Official BYC Poll: Special Needs Poultry

[Patiocoturnix]

I have a celadon coturnix that was on the verge of dying for a week after hatch was able to pull him/her through 2-3 weeks later it developed wry neck still alive and fine to this day other than the neck twist nothing got rid of it. It doesn’t hinder its life at all.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I've had multiple Special Needs birds, though I currently only have two right now. Going from the list above, I'll list my birds.

Leg or Foot:

My first Special Needs bird in this category was Kai, a Douglas White (an EE mix) cockerel. He hatched with one of his legs stuck forward. I tried putting his legs in a hubble to fix him, but it never worked. He was hatched under a broody, so he stayed with his hatch mates until they were old enough to go with the flock. Then he moved in with two misfits, Nalla (abused by rooster) and Mica (lash egg?). Nalla adopted Kai as if she had raised him his whole life dispite never being broody, and took care of him until his death (at about 3-4 months old).

My second bird in this category is Lilac. Lilac is an EE hen that I got last year. She has crooked toes. As a chick, her toes were fine and she was best known as "Thief" for her quick maneuvers to "steal" treats from other chicks. As she grew, her toes began to curl, thus putting an end to her thieving antics. I tried saving her toes by wrapping them (as shown by someone else), which failed. She still lives in my flock with her crooked toes.

Neck:

I haven't had any known neck problems in my flock yet.

Wing:

My first bird with an issue with a wing was Eagle, a rescued Lavender Guinea Fowl. He and his flock was out foraging when a Guinea scream filled the air. Before I knew it, the flock was huring back with Eagle lagging behind. When we figured out the flock, we discovered that Eagle had a broken wing. Both me and my Mom did our best to put his wing back together, but unfortunately, he was never able to fly again. He became best friends with a voiceless rooster named Simon, until Simon's death. Several months later, Eagle passed away with a broken heart of losing his best friend.

Eagle:

My second bird in this category was a Sebastopol/Emden mix goose named Jennifer. She somehow broke her wing during the winter. She ended up going to a different home to move to "freezer camp" so she wouldn't suffer with her wing.

Mobility:

Kai probably is a part of this category.

Vision:

As far as I know, I've never had any birds with this as a serious issue. I did have a Black Ameraucana rooster that I suspected eyesight issues, but never had any major proof.

Beak:

I've had few crossbeaks. Of my simple crossbeaks, including a hairline, there was Lauren, a debeaked Isa Brown, Beatrix a Whiting True Blue, a suspected hairline, Lucy a Old English Game bantam, and my first crossbeak, there was Marvalo I, an EE hen.

Of my major crossbeaks, there is my current one, Amber an EE hen. I got her as a chick and on the way home with her, I discovered that she was crossbeak. Like Marvalo I, I did try to fix her beak, but was unsuccessful. I then turned to trimming and filling her beak, which I still do. She's become one of my more spoiled girls who often gets away with being a little "naughty."

Amber:

Crop:

My crop problems girl was a Speckled Sussex hen named Jewels. I got her for free because she was "too small," though I think the lady was just trying to get rid of her overstock (as I was given a few others too). Jewels appear fine at first, until she matured and I discovered her love of water. I soon discovered that she had a crop problem. After not finding much help to fix her, I settled with putting a crop bra on her for her winter. I took her bra off to give her a break, then it got imacted. I put her on a fast until it went down and put the bra back on her. At some point, I got help from @Wyorp Rock, who helped me treat her for Sour Crop. Jewels did well for several months before her crop began bothering her again, which I repeated the treatment that @Wyorp Rock had shown me before. After that, she needed the treatment every once in awhile, which was done by me until I rehomed her to a poultry Special Needs home for her retirement.

Jewels:

Geriatric:

And I'm not quite sure what this is.

So, those are my Special Needs birds, both past and present.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

This is Nubby. He a mixed bantam. At one time he had 5 toes and a little bit more of comb. Nubby lost his little feet due to frostbite. He still scratches around the yard, crows, and dose his little dance. This is an old pic of him. He now does not have to wear little pink booties

And this is my beloved Cricked Beak. After about 3 week of like her top beak began to curve. She lays me big white eggs, broods chicks, and sometimes forgets what gender she is and try’s to mate with my slight scissor beak Houdan . (Cricked Beak is not used for breeding) this is an old pic of her beak, it’s more cricked beak

 

[Jenbirdee]

One of my blue runners is blind in one eye. She does pretty well though, but occasionally gets pecked by a chicken or shoved away by a bigger duck that she doesn’t see coming from the blindside. Her name is Daffodil

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

I currently have 3lemon cuckoo Niederrheiners. One perfect hen- 2 NOT quite but is clearly mixed with something having 2-3 inch legs and red feathers. Well, LCN are big and grow fast. The perfect hen is 9 lbs, has stout 6 inch pink legs. My two not-LCNs are 8-9 lbs on 3 in legs. all full of fluff. They all get messy fluff but the two shorties can’t squat on 3 inch legs. One has chronic bumble foot and the other gouty arthritis with severe tophi nodules on feet. So every week I do a spa day and bathe all LCN with a lavender epsom salt soak and nonlathering shampoo to the nether regions. Finish with a vaseline rub to legs and feet, a short cool blow dry and qtip to dry ears, under wattles and clean noses (Donald topples forward often because of her feet). Picture below is Donald (a hen) aka Red aka Lil Red Devil. She LOVES. foot massages. These handicap hens require a series of steps and ramps to roost and get to nests—despite floor nests. I modified the coop with handicap ramps from pop door to roosts and nests. They are very good hens- eggs daily and Red gives a love nip (bites) every night to say thank you. Ppl say I’m nuts for doing all that, but they didn’t ask to have Dorking dork legs with a wide-glide body- that’s on the hatchery. But I’m glad to give them love and provide the ladies a spa day package for life.

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I currently have two special needs chickens- it’s all recent so they’re still working on regaining mobility.
My Cochin pullet has a paralyzed leg and has been learning how to use it as a crutch for a month or so now, my Icelandic cockerel had some sort of back injury and now cannot stand up properly and drags his butt around… I might rehome him I don’t think he can handle a free range flock and I know a few people with special needs chicken flock

They’re currently living with my little chicks and wryneck pullet. My cochin(Icebear) is getting so much better at walking! She uses her wings to go extra fast. The Icelandic Nat has only been in recovery for a couple days but he’s for sure never walking the same. They’re both insanely sweet, Nat is real nervous which makes it difficult to help him eat… I have to move them to the feeder a few times a day

I’m so proud of Icebear, she hobbles around and can go so fast, still a bit low on energy but she is figuring it out!

 

[CoopBoots]

This is Noodle. She's had a wry neck issue since she was teeny tiny--tried the usual vitamin regimen but never saw any improvement. She has to live in a sub-flock with her sisters as she's too different for the rest of my chickens to accept, but she's rapidly become almost the heart of our chicken-keeping. I'm unsure she'll ever lay, and I'm really hoping she doesn't as her little body probably doesn't need the stress. But she feeds herself, drinks without issue, and even has fun pretending she can boss me around now Other than a little extra looking after, like ensuring she gets in and out of the coop okay and that no one bullies her, she's a beautiful and independent little lady.

 

[RadEggs]

I have had a few geriatric birds over 11-12 years old that as they aged could not roost and had to sleep on the floor, regular beak and claw trimmings, went blind, had arthritis and required a special diet, heat on frigid days, etc...

Had 2 birds that had strokes, this one had Congestive Heart Failure and I had to drain her belly every few days for a couple of months... My sweet Tillie...
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She lost the use of her legs so she lived in this tub with towels to support her so she wouldn't fall over. Daily I brought her inside to clean her up and change her bedding. She got goodies for being such a good girl after her clean up, she'd get so excited when I opened up the treat bag she'd nearly squirm right out of her tub! She was a happy girl all the time regardless of her condition, eventually she did pass away. Broke my heart to pieces.

Aww, I am sorry for your loss. She was a very lovely chicken, from the sound of it. ♡

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

I currently have two special needs chickens- it’s all recent so they’re still working on regaining mobility.
My Cochin pullet has a paralyzed leg and has been learning how to use it as a crutch for a month or so now, my Icelandic cockerel had some sort of back injury and now cannot stand up properly and drags his butt around… I might rehome him I don’t think he can handle a free range flock and I know a few people with special needs chicken flock

They’re currently living with my little chicks and wryneck pullet. My cochin(Icebear) is getting so much better at walking! She uses her wings to go extra fast. The Icelandic Nat has only been in recovery for a couple days but he’s for sure never walking the same. They’re both insanely sweet, Nat is real nervous which makes it difficult to help him eat… I have to move them to the feeder a few times a day

I’m so proud of Icebear, she hobbles around and can go so fast, still a bit low on energy but she is figuring it out!

Ends up I’ll have one more- going to pickup a cross beaked silkie rooster later this week not too bad thankfully

 

[WoDia]

I had a Blue Slate turkey, who was born blind and with one eye (a deformity that I always felt guilty about). I made the choice to let him grow up, because he proved he was a fighter from day 1. I raised him with his sister, and they were really sweet birds. She was a great companion for him during his many years. They had their own enclosure (built with his disability in mind), where he learned his way around quite well. I was very attached to him (her too) and totally spoiled them. He always seemed very content and enjoyed having his head and under the chin rubbed. People might have thought he was horrible-looking, but I thought he was beautiful with such a sweetness about him. His sister just passed away a few months ago at the age of 12. She had lived out the remainder of her years with my elderly chickens. As you can probably imagine, I miss them very much.