Not a good week for my chickens... More specifically, for Prim and her babies... Last night, my DD found that Prim and her babies had been trapped outside of the whole coop/run. The snow had built up and she was unable to latch the door to the run properly yesterday morning. There was a piece of hardware cloth along the opening of the door to keep predators from getting in through the gap between the door and the frame, but it had gotten torn part-way off (I am assuming by my mini [horse] who insists on shoving his way into the run to see if there is any corn on the ground and mysteriously tore his blanket sometime in the last couple of days). I think Prim got her head caught in the hardware cloth because she has a long cut from the top of her head down the side of her face and is missing a bunch of feathers on her head. She seems to be doing fine, but we brought her and the 5 chicks that were still out in the coop inside to be in the brooder with her 2 chicks that are recovering from foot injuries earlier.
We have been gone until late for the past few days and I hadn't been closely checking the feet of the 2 injured chicks. I had noticed that one of them was moving around more and one seemed to prefer to eat while still resting on the ground. This morning, I picked him up and checked out his feet. This is the chick that Prim saved. My DD calls him Survivor... His feet stink and there is a definite line about 1/2" up the leg from the foot on the right side where above it the leg is yellow, and below it, it is brown/grey. The toes are flat and twisted sideways... I think his feet are dead. The other foot is the same, just not as distinct of a line of demarcation... I am just sick about this. I know I am going to have to put him down.... I am holding off as long as I can, which I know isn't fair to him... It's just another emotional hit that my family did not need right now. I can barely keep myself together this week as it is...
Anyone ever hear of prosthetic feet for chickens??
We have been gone until late for the past few days and I hadn't been closely checking the feet of the 2 injured chicks. I had noticed that one of them was moving around more and one seemed to prefer to eat while still resting on the ground. This morning, I picked him up and checked out his feet. This is the chick that Prim saved. My DD calls him Survivor... His feet stink and there is a definite line about 1/2" up the leg from the foot on the right side where above it the leg is yellow, and below it, it is brown/grey. The toes are flat and twisted sideways... I think his feet are dead. The other foot is the same, just not as distinct of a line of demarcation... I am just sick about this. I know I am going to have to put him down.... I am holding off as long as I can, which I know isn't fair to him... It's just another emotional hit that my family did not need right now. I can barely keep myself together this week as it is...
Anyone ever hear of prosthetic feet for chickens??
