Raising Chickens and Special Needs Kids

[Cynthia12]

My third and my fifth, that I carried...hanging out together. The last son of ours just got married in April.

 

[NotAFarm]

Back from almost 2 weeks vacation and I'm glad to be home - I'm tired!

When we were driving up from Cheyenne, north on interstate 25, the kids were headed down to Denver, south on I-25. As it turned out we'd be in Douglas about the same time, so we hooked up for lunch. Worked out perfectly - they got there about 5 minutes before we did! We didn't tell Katie, though. Wanted to surprise her. She hadn't seen her mom, dad, and Kendra for that whole 2 weeks. So we walked into McDonald's in Douglas and she saw her dad first. She stopped, cocked her head to one side, then took off running to him. It was so cool! Kendra was in her wheelchair flapping her arms like a 2 week old chick and squealing, "Sissy, Sissy!" Yeah, it was really fun!




That's where we stand right now.

Blooie, I'm glad you were able to get away! Please give this

to Kendra!! What an ordeal for her....and her folks.

 

[Henriettasmum]

Back from almost 2 weeks vacation and I'm glad to be home - I'm tired!

When we were driving up from Cheyenne, north on interstate 25, the kids were headed down to Denver, south on I-25. As it turned out we'd be in Douglas about the same time, so we hooked up for lunch. Worked out perfectly - they got there about 5 minutes before we did! We didn't tell Katie, though. Wanted to surprise her. She hadn't seen her mom, dad, and Kendra for that whole 2 weeks. So we walked into McDonald's in Douglas and she saw her dad first. She stopped, cocked her head to one side, then took off running to him. It was so cool! Kendra was in her wheelchair flapping her arms like a 2 week old chick and squealing, "Sissy, Sissy!" Yeah, it was really fun!



On Monday Kendra had her 3 week post-op visit. The doctor took out the indwelling catheter, then showed the kids how to cath her using the Mitrofanoff. The Foley came out, then he slipped in the same size catheter. He pulled it out and then had Jenny do it. She said it slid right in, just slick as you please, and she raved about how easy it was going to be to cath Kendra that way. Since now Kendra has to be cathed every 3 hours like clockwork, easy is GOOD.

But it didn't go so well back in the hotel room when Jenny had to do the first one alone. Kendra screamed and cried, and Jenny could NOT get the catheter in. Kenny tried, and he couldn't either. So Jen cathed her the old way, figuring Kendra was just sensitive because of the site being messed with. Three hours passed, and the next attempt was no better than the first. So she called the hospital and left a message. She was so upset. She told me that they'd put Kendra through all of this, and then she somehow messed it up. She left another message at 8 that evening.

The next morning they were supposed to be on their way home, but instead they checked out of the hotel and headed straight for the hospital. Kenny said they weren't coming home until this issue was fixed. As they were driving to the hospital, Kendra's doctor called and asked if they could bring Kendra right in. Jenny told her they were already on their way, and when they got there the doctor was leaning against the reception desk waiting for them. They took Kendra right back, and the doctor couldn't get the catheter in either. By now, of course, Kendra was OVER this entire adventure.

Finally the decision was made to get the Foley indwelling back in. Doctor said this happens with about 1 out of a 100 kids. What happened was that when they first took out the Foley, they immediately slipped the same size catheter in to show Jenny how it works. Then Jenny used the same sized catheter and tried it herself. However, in the 3 hours from the time they left that first appointment until it was time for Jen to do the first one unassisted, swelling set in. So the size 12 catheter couldn't be forced in. Jen even tried a size 10, then a size 8, out of the sample pack they gave her, but none of them worked. After a little effort, with Kendra screaming and thrashing the whole time, the got the size 12 Foley in. She's not connected to the bag again, though - this cath has a cap on it and it just sorta hangs out of her belly button. There's a small balloon on the end that's filled with saline to keep it from pulling out. So she's not tethered to her wheelchair anymore.

In two weeks Jenny is to call the doctor, and they'll walk her through drawing the fluid out of the balloon and slipping the Foley out. At that point, after a little more healing time, we should be able to pull the Foley out and go back to using the Mitrofanoff as it was intended. They'll walk Jenny through taking out the Foley over the phone.

That's where we stand right now.

I was so pleased when I read about you all getting together but I was appalled and so sad to hear of the problems with the catheter. We can only just hope and pray that it all sorts itself out very soon for poor little Kendra. Our thoughts to you all. Cuddles for Kendra.

 

[Cynthia12]

Happy 4th of July everyone. Have a safe weekend!

 

[Blooie]

Happy 4th of July everyone. Have a safe weekend!

So doggone cute!!!

 

[IsaacK]

My almost 2 and a half year old son, James, LOVES his first chickens. He has Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Combined Expressive & Receptive Speech Delay. He almost died at 2 months old the day of his vaccines (STORY HERE) which resulted in respiratory/cardiac arrest, seizures, and a mess of other complications that left him pretty vegetative for several months following the event. Hes been slowly gaining ground, thanks to many specialists and therapists, but still doesn't like to interact is is mostly non verbal.

A few months ago we went to the farm store for dog food and my son was fascinated by the little chicks which resulted in repeated use of the words WOW and Yeah as well as eye contact! Well, it also resulted in Daddy getting him some of the little chickies too, even though I ask him where the heck we were gonna put them. It all worked out though, they just stayed in the house longer but there were no complaints. He learned to be gentle with them very quickly and even started using my hand to pet them... His speech and occupational therapists were as blown away as I was.

Now, his chickens are 14-20 weeks old and he is still fascinated by them. Though they are no longer in the house lol. He now has a little chair he sits in outside by them. He will jabber and carry on and try to sing to them. It is very cute. Some days he is more interested in other things like his outside toys, but will usually chat with the chickens first. Were hoping to name them so he will be encouraged to say their names to talk to them. Right now they are all named he says"bok...bok..bok.." for chickens... Even with the therapist. Which is not only cute but a big improvement. She tried to get him to say the toy rooster said "cock-a-doodle-do" and he said "nun..no..no.." "bok..bok..bok.." For him, this is a very big deal, as he currently has only around 7 words he will say with any consistency. He was also not walking at all when we first got them. Now, with the help of braces as well, they are a motivator for him to walk outside. And that is pretty much the beginning of my sons journey with chickens and how they help him. There have been some worried about him being so young around them, but even with his compromised immune system he has never caught any illness from them.

I have had many, many, chickens in the past and am delighted my son enjoys them as well in spite of his struggles. We have a little mixed starter flock for now, mostly so he could raise the chicks, but most will be leaving for their new homes soon as was planned. I am still not sure if we will be keeping full sized or bantams for the long haul. In any case, the goal will be a small number of birds that are easily discernible from each other. I am having some difficulty locating the breeds I really want though, and may have to look into ordering hatching eggs for them. The hatchery chicks were a great start, but I hope to get him into chicken shows as he gets older so I know I have some work to do before that day arrives.

Thank you for reading my story. -Kay

ps. Edited to add our names as I realized things were a little confusing since I used the same name I use for school stuff as my name here, which is my last name and first initial.


Long awaited eye contact!


Using my hand to pet the chick.


He was trying to kiss her, lol.



Not so little chickens anymore.

 

[Tumbling K]

My almost 2 and a half year old son LOVES his first chickens. He has Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Recessive & Combined Expressive Speech Delay. He almost died at 2 months old the day of his vaccines (STORY HERE) which resulted in respiratory/cardiac arrest, seizures, and a mess of other complications that left him pretty vegetative for several months following the event. Hes been slowly gaining ground, thanks to many specialists and therapists, but still doesn't like to interact is is mostly non verbal.

A few months ago we went to the farm store for dog food and my son was fascinated by the little chicks which resulted in repeated use of the words WOW and Yeah as well as eye contact! Well, it also resulted in Daddy getting him some of the little chickies too. He learned to be gentle with them very quickly and even started using my hand to pet them... His speech and occupational therapists were as blown away as I was.

Now, his chickens are 14-20 weeks old and he is still fascinated by them. Though they are no longer in the house lol. He now has a little chair he sits in outside by them. He will jabber and carry on and try to sing to them. It is very cute. Some days he is more interested in other things like his outside toys, but will usually chat with the chickens first. Were hoping to name them so he will be encouraged to say their names to talk to them. Right now they are all named he says"bok...bok..bok.." for chickens... Even with the therapist. Which is not only cute but a big improvement. She tried to get him to say the toy rooster said "cock-a-doodle-do" and he said "nun..no..no.." "bok..bok..bok.." For him, this is a very big deal, as he currently has only around 7 words he will say with any consistency. He was also not walking at all when we first got them. Now, with the help of braces as well, they are a motivator for him to walk outside. And that is pretty much the beginning of my sons journey with chickens and how they help him. There have been some worried about him being so young around them, but even with his compromised immune system he has never caught any illness from them.

I have had many, many, chickens in the past and am delighted my son enjoys them as well in spite of his struggles. We have a little mixed starter flock for now, mostly so he could raise the chicks, but most will be leaving for their new homes soon as was planned. I am still not sure if we will be keeping full sized or bantams for the long haul. In any case, the goal will be a small number of birds that are easily discernible from each other. I am having some difficulty locating the breeds I really want though, and may have to look into ordering hatching eggs for them. The hatchery chicks were a great start, but I hope to get him into chicken shows as he gets older so I know I have some work to do before that day arrives.

Thank you for reading my story. -K


Long awaited eye contact!


Using my hand to pet the chick.


He was trying to kiss her, lol.



Not so little chickens anymore.

brother, that is stinkin' AWESOME.

looks like ya'll just needed to find his trigger. there are lots of good folks on this site, that can help you choose, if you need help, a people friendly sociable bird. I think most of them, for the most part can be with lots of interaction, and bonus, it's therapeutic for you son.

 

[IsaacK]

brother, that is stinkin' AWESOME.

looks like ya'll just needed to find his trigger. there are lots of good folks on this site, that can help you choose, if you need help, a people friendly sociable bird. I think most of them, for the most part can be with lots of interaction, and bonus, it's therapeutic for you son.

So far all of his chickens are very sociable except the Easter Eggers. The Rhode Island Reds act like little dogs and will pile out into our lap if I open the door on the chicken tractor. They were the first chicks though and raised in the house for like 6 weeks, lol. The EEs were too though, but they didnt friendly up as much. Many of these will be going to new homes in the fall. We hadn't planned on really having many chickens until we move (we live in town now) but its looking like we may keep a handful of resident chickens anyway. His very first RIR hen is among those. Shes still his favorite.

 

[FridayYet]

So far all of his chickens are very sociable except the Easter Eggers. The Rhode Island Reds act like little dogs and will pile out into our lap if I open the door on the chicken tractor. They were the first chicks though and raised in the house for like 6 weeks, lol. The EEs were too though, but they didnt friendly up as much. Many of these will be going to new homes in the fall. We hadn't planned on really having many chickens until we move (we live in town now) but its looking like we may keep a handful of resident chickens anyway. His very first RIR hen is among those. Shes still his favorite.

It's a great story and it made my day just reading it. May you have many, many more breakthroughs in your future! So glad he's doing well.

 

[IsaacK]

It's a great story and it made my day just reading it. May you have many, many more breakthroughs in your future! So glad he's doing well.

Thank you. We hope to see more of these little miracles as time goes on. Just taking one day at a time.