Haleyrbloom
Chirping
I am still pretty new to the chicken game. (About 11 weeks.)
I was picking up some more chickens from a breeder (yes, chicken math is real,)
and she asked if she could give me a chick. It had spraddle legs.
The chick was at the bottom of the brooder trying to move with chicks jumping on her.
I felt bad for her, so I took her. She is a Dorking.
When I got her home, I took a better look at her.
Her feathers on her wings were matted, her feet, wings and beak looked a bit big and she was bones. I washed her up/ Picked out poo out of her feathers and toe nails very carefully. (took almost 2 hours.) The I made a brace for her legs.
I emailed the breeder to ask how old she was. Her reply shocked me...the chick was one month old. A month she was unable to walk, or eat, or drink. I was upset and sad.
She is much better now. She can walk, (not normal, but enough to get around.) and she is gaining weight each day.
Here is my question...(sorry for the long back story)
She is now 11 weeks. All my other birds have outgrown her. She seems severely stunted and mentally challenged. I have to make sure she drinks and eats.
She seems to be in pain when she walks, so she doesn't walk much at all. She most will lay down all day. She loves to just sit with you. She is VERY sweet.
My concerns is that she is not growing fast enough...will she have problems like being egg bound, (I don't care if she pays eggs,) and will she thrive in the coop?
I am feeding her half starter crumble, half grower feed with the typical treats (worms, veggies, etc.) I do give her Nutri-Drench each day.
The chickens seems to fine with her, but the 3 weeks old likes to jump on her back a lot.
Can I give her anything for pain walking? Any suggestions for the coop, or what I can do to further improve her growth and help her thrive?
I attached two photos, one of her on the first day I got her (she was 4 weeks) and another with her sitting with her brooder mates at 8 weeks. I don't have any new pics : (
Thank you in advance for your help.
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