Official BYC Poll: Special Needs Poultry

[triciayoung]

Hello all my chicken friends!! I was honestly surprised there was no community for people with disabled animals. People come up with the most clever ways to help and these tips and tricks need to be shared. If nothing else, a place for these people to go to find support. I loved the idea about the aquarium filter to add noise to help her hen find the water by sound. Amazing!! I recently had a hen get attacked by a fox. Fortunately, shes alive, but cant run or jump or scratch. Shes tryin' her best, so I will too. I came on ByC yesterday looking for some advice and was disenchanted at the lack of 'chicken with disability' topics. This featured poll is perfect! I felt so much better after reading everyones story. It feels good when your 'not alone'. Some of you are AMaZINg. Hats off to all the people that go above and beyond to help all their friends.
View attachment 3611816

I am feeling the same way reading all of the posts. There are many people like us. People who watch our chickens/birds fight for life and decide to help them do it. I have learned so many ideas, but mostly, it is so motivating to talk with others who cherish every moment we have with these special chickens..

 

[triciayoung]

My first chicken was a rescue from someone who had to many roosters. He was blind because his eyes were pecked out so I saved him and kept him

Oh my, his eyes pecked out. Poor baby. What is his name? Tell me more about him...I am interested.

 

[EuroChook]

Just a question... Is there any big hearted person within Pennsylvania, or within shot thereof, that would like to take on special case?

Chick was recently found scalped. Initial wound doing fine. Still having some trouble standing, but eating okay... if you have room in your heart and facilities, let me know please?

 

[quackingdom]

I have a young hen with a severely crossed beak. We feed our birds fermented feed in deep bowls, and she seems to be able to eat without issues. I'm not sure if she can drink from the chicken waterers, but we have tubs and buckets for our ducks that she can drink from. I didn't know there was anything we could do for her, but I'm just now reading that her beak may need trimmed. Should we trim it?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Just a question... Is there any big hearted person within Pennsylvania, or within shot thereof, that would like to take on special case?

Chick was recently found scalped. Initial wound doing fine. Still having some trouble standing, but eating okay... if you have room in your heart and facilities, let me know please?

Do you have pictures of this chick? Many years ago, I had a chick scalped by a turkey. After some treatment and healing time, she healed up nicely, though she always had a bald spot on her head. (Sadly for her- her name was Fluffy, which she was named that before the turkey broke into her pen.) She did fine up to her retirement with no problems, and even was best friends with another hen (who received the name "Fluffy's Friend" because of how close they were).

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I have a young hen with a severely crossed beak. We feed our birds fermented feed in deep bowls, and she seems to be able to eat without issues. I'm not sure if she can drink from the chicken waterers, but we have tubs and buckets for our ducks that she can drink from. I didn't know there was anything we could do for her, but I'm just now reading that her beak may need trimmed. Should we trim it?


View attachment 3612683

View attachment 3612684

View attachment 3612686
View attachment 3612687
View attachment 3612689

Yes, definitely, trim it. You might need to do a few trims to get it down, then go onto a regular schedule. I'd start off with using toe nail clippers to cut off all the excess growth (the white part) without cutting into the quick. Then I'd take a nail file and smooth out all the edges up to the quick. Within a week, I'd suggest working on her again with only the nail file and again a week after that. Once her beak is doing good, then you could cut back to doing her beak every two to four weeks.

For feeding and watering, always ensure that she has deep food and water dishes. Some suggest feeding mash, which might make it easier for her. If you provide bricks or cement blocks around her feeder, she can wipe her beak off on them and that'll help with keeping her beak down some, and help keep her face clean.

 

[Emma_Bruffy]

Oh my, his eyes pecked out. Poor baby. What is his name? Tell me more about him...I am interested.

It was about 8 years ago, he's not with me now but his name was the red rooster (very creative) I don't have a pic of him on my phone but I have one somewhere in my drawer

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I had Limpy, who has since passed away. She joined my flock my the neighbors, just decided not to go back home! At some point before she permanently joined my flock she hurt her leg. It must have been up in her thigh as I examined her legs and feet and couldn't find any wounds or apparent issues. She seemed to want to live, so she slept in the nestbox, limped around her little daily circuit of the yard, and I delivered her food to wherever she was at feeding time. She died in peace with her flock around her this winter. I believe she was quite old.

 

[Chickeeaholic]

Ehhh. Don't know if it counts as a serious disability. I had one ISA brown who was left with quite a few less toes in a predator attack, while she was recovering in the sick birds coop. That left her with a very slight limp, so she was named Koutsi, which means limp, or the one who limps in Greek. Probably the same night she broke her wing. I never noticed, because there isn't room to fly, and she held her wing fine. One year later when it had healed, she'd moved coops, tried to fly on the roost in front of me and failed. I picked her up (after struggling to catch her) and found her wing problem. She spent the rest of the days flightless and slightly limp. She passed away at 3 and a half some days agoView attachment 3610015

I’m sorry she’s gone.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I have a hen who lost both her feet to frostbite during the great Texas freeze of 2021. Despite her life-changing accident, she recovered to live a good life. In fact, she has become like my little feathered puppy, every bit as loving and trusting as a real canine puppy can be.

Here she is cozied up next to me in my chair while I drink coffee one cold winter morning.

Resting comfortably in my lap

Waiting patiently for me to finish wrapping her left stump so she can continue on with her day. I keep her stumps well-padded and wrapped after she developed pressure sores on the bottoms of both stumps a few months after her injuries healed, and she became more mobile.

I happened to have my phone nearby to capture this moment, one I will always treasure. I had reached out to bring Matilda's water bowl near, when she deliberately placed her head on my hand. And held that position for quite some time. It was like she was saying "Thank you for taking care of me Mom. I'm sorry I'm so much trouble." My sweet Matilda is no trouble at all. She repays me in spades for the little extra care i provide to her. She has taught me even more than I knew before how very special a chicken can be.

Don't get me wrong; as docile and trusting as she is, Matilda is not an invalid. When the weather is nice, she spends her days outside with her friends, being as normal a chicken as possible. That is what brings me the most satisfaction; that despite her handicap, she still lives a happy chicken life.

In the evenings I pick her up and carry her back inside my house, where she sleeps safely and comfortably in her own private coop until the next morning comes.

.
I created a thread to document her injuries and recovery after i understood how severe her frostbite was.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/matilda-is-going-to-lose-her-
feet.1454933/

And later wrote an article about her journey too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...to-know-about-injury-care-and-recovery.78168/