KimWatts
In the Brooder
- Mar 23, 2021
- 10
- 22
- 31
My daughter post about two weeks ago in this forum asking if our chicken could be saved. I'm happy to report that yes she has.
Backstory- Over a year ago Clover was attacked by a hawk as a juvenile. They had just gone out into the lot and I happened to be standing not 2 feet away when it happened. I screamed and the hawk flew off. After weeks of recover she was able to stand and walk a bit, but not well. We put her outside in a pen everyday and she comes into my studio at night. She couldn't perch or walk very well, but seemed happy and not in pain and was able to successfully lay eggs up until just a couple of weeks ago when my daughter posted here. There are several videos on my YouTube with different updates.
Wonderful news about Clovey! She has recovered and with the help of a pool noodle she can actually stand up and walk better than she could before she got ill. This is the video I took the day after she got her pool noodle gauntlets, which was 4 days ago (3-30-2021). She is doing even better than in this video. She is standing up consistently, can still sit if she wants, but can now get herself up to stand, she can eat standing up, and can preen herself. She is up off her belly and butt now so air is circulating and she should start to have feathers come in. She is practicing walking and is doing very well and it is not the weird leg swinging gate she had prior to this. She got excited yesterday and even ran a short distance, but I think it surprised her. Further up in this thread are two other videos on how she walked prior to being egg bound, and one of her while she was still having issues. I am beyond thrilled, amazed and grateful and we really were having the quality of life talk. Also, I'm not sure HOW they are working, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. I kept trying to make her walkers in varying degrees of not working, and she hated it so I started thinking about in terms of "braces" instead of a wheel chair or walker and it was game changing. I thought of several different options for braces, and then pool noodles just popped in my head. So one trip to the dollar store later and she had gauntlets. We measured between her foot and elbow and cut the noodle to fit. Then we cut a slit in it to get it around her leg and taped the slit back up with packing tape. That's it! Cheap and easy. The hole in the noodle is perfectly sized and they can move around. We will change them out for new weekly and check her legs for signs of irritation, but so far so good. Also, they are water proof and easy to clean or replace. I will try to put an entire thread of her story together soon. From her hawk attack over a year ago, all her updates and will continue to document progress. She is improving in mobility daily, and I have high hopes that eventually she will be able to perch and scratch on her own.
Backstory- Over a year ago Clover was attacked by a hawk as a juvenile. They had just gone out into the lot and I happened to be standing not 2 feet away when it happened. I screamed and the hawk flew off. After weeks of recover she was able to stand and walk a bit, but not well. We put her outside in a pen everyday and she comes into my studio at night. She couldn't perch or walk very well, but seemed happy and not in pain and was able to successfully lay eggs up until just a couple of weeks ago when my daughter posted here. There are several videos on my YouTube with different updates.
Wonderful news about Clovey! She has recovered and with the help of a pool noodle she can actually stand up and walk better than she could before she got ill. This is the video I took the day after she got her pool noodle gauntlets, which was 4 days ago (3-30-2021). She is doing even better than in this video. She is standing up consistently, can still sit if she wants, but can now get herself up to stand, she can eat standing up, and can preen herself. She is up off her belly and butt now so air is circulating and she should start to have feathers come in. She is practicing walking and is doing very well and it is not the weird leg swinging gate she had prior to this. She got excited yesterday and even ran a short distance, but I think it surprised her. Further up in this thread are two other videos on how she walked prior to being egg bound, and one of her while she was still having issues. I am beyond thrilled, amazed and grateful and we really were having the quality of life talk. Also, I'm not sure HOW they are working, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. I kept trying to make her walkers in varying degrees of not working, and she hated it so I started thinking about in terms of "braces" instead of a wheel chair or walker and it was game changing. I thought of several different options for braces, and then pool noodles just popped in my head. So one trip to the dollar store later and she had gauntlets. We measured between her foot and elbow and cut the noodle to fit. Then we cut a slit in it to get it around her leg and taped the slit back up with packing tape. That's it! Cheap and easy. The hole in the noodle is perfectly sized and they can move around. We will change them out for new weekly and check her legs for signs of irritation, but so far so good. Also, they are water proof and easy to clean or replace. I will try to put an entire thread of her story together soon. From her hawk attack over a year ago, all her updates and will continue to document progress. She is improving in mobility daily, and I have high hopes that eventually she will be able to perch and scratch on her own.
