Tips from those who keep house chickens

[Diveks]

Hey everyone (this one might be a long one), so a little backstory about this girl, got a brahma pullet from a breeder a few months ago. This pullet came with a broken leg which i couldn’t return because i picked her out myself. She looked lively and normal at the breeders but the second day at my house I noticed she wouldn’t use much of her left leg.

The weird thing about it is that the vet said that it was an old injury that had healed weirdly so the leg is unusable. But i was not willing to just let her go. After several hundred worth of meds, tests, flea meds, IV fluids (she was anemic from crazy amount of fleas), xrays, she was ready for her surgery.

I was crazy nervous but she powered through it. Because her bones were fused weirdly they had to re-break it and put some rods so that it would heal correctly this time. Sadly she would have to go through a second surgery to take the rods out after she heals so this will be a long long journey.

Well I made this thread to ask some of you with house chickens for some tips and tricks. I want to know what you guys do with your house chickens (housing, poop control, ect). Would love to see pics of your house chickens too if any of you are willing to share!

I was thinking of making her a diaper so that she can roam free around the house and will have more company other than just me going past and petting her. She will surely get attacked by the flock because she is handicapped right now. She used to be with another really docile hen but she would push her around, and step on her. The vet advised to keep her alone for awhile. Right now she is living in an ICU pet brooder thing and im looking for tips of a more long term solution.

Pics!
a few days after arrival

Post surgery pics:

Now:

 

[Peaches Lee]

Wow, what an incredible story! And how lucky are you to have Vets willing to go above and beyond for your chicken!

I had a hen that broke her leg when I first started with chickens. I at first didn't realize it was broken because she had held her leg up and I couldn't see it to assess. After I discovered it was broken, I brought her into my house.

I set her up in a back room and placed her in a dog kennel at night. I did buy her a chicken diaper but she absolutely hated it, so it was a no go. I placed puppy pads around my back room and it helped keep the mess down very well. She enjoyed walking around the room and "exploring" her new surroundings.

She really didn't seem to mind her confinement and after she had laid an egg, I knew she was ready to go back outside. She was very happy to be a free ranging hen again.

Good luck to you and I wish her a speedy recovery.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm assuming that she is a temporary house chicken until she is fully mobile after the pins come out at which point you will re-integrate her with the flock?
I would put a mirror in her crate with her and maybe a fluffy stuffed animal. Maybe even play chicken sounds for her... as long as that didn't get her too excited.
As soon as she can have company when she is more mobile, I would bring back the docile pullet to stay with her to make integration back into the flock much easier.

 

[Diveks]

Wow, what an incredible story! And how lucky are you to have Vets willing to go above and beyond for your chicken!

I had a hen that broke her leg when I first started with chickens. I at first didn't realize it was broken because she had held her leg up and I couldn't see it to assess. After I discovered it was broken, I brought her into my house.

I set her up in a back room and placed her in a dog kennel at night. I did buy her a chicken diaper but she absolutely hated it, so it was a no go. I placed puppy pads around my back room and it helped keep the mess down very well. She enjoyed walking around the room and "exploring" her new surroundings.

She really didn't seem to mind her confinement and after she had laid an egg, I knew she was ready to go back outside. She was very happy to be a free ranging hen again.

Good luck to you and I wish her a speedy recovery.

thank you ! actually it was very hard to find a vet willing to do the surgery. I spend almost a hundred dollars before the vet told me they can't do anything for her and suggested another vet which i then need to spend more for this vet to do tests, kinda hoped the vet would say they could not treat her before doing the tests.

i do also put down puppy pads but she would slip around, she just might accept the diaper as she is a very cooperative chicken, will have to try it out first though.

I'm assuming that she is a temporary house chicken until she is fully mobile after the pins come out at which point you will re-integrate her with the flock?
I would put a mirror in her crate with her and maybe a fluffy stuffed animal. Maybe even play chicken sounds for her... as long as that didn't get her too excited.
As soon as she can have company when she is more mobile, I would bring back the docile pullet to stay with her to make integration back into the flock much easier.

yes im hoping to integrate her into the flock, she actually had never met the flock as she was still in quarantine when i noticed her leg. weirdly she did not seem to enjoy the other hen, but im thinking maybe because she didnt wanna be bothered at the time because of her leg. good thing she can hear the flock from her area. she is in the living room for now so she mostly watches whatever we all are doing, guests also seem to love interacting with her. i will be trying the stuffed animal. Ill try to get her company when she has recovered enough

 

[PippinTheChicken]

@AngBantamLuv

 

[Diveks]

Here she is with her diy diaper, thankfully she didn’t seem too bothered by it . Still need to improve the fitting though.

Sadly she still isn’t very mobile and will signal to me when she wants to move somewhere or wants foods or drinks (which is a chore). So tonight im planning to build her a wheelchair.

 

[Silkie Princess]

Here she is with her diy diaper, thankfully she didn’t seem too bothered by it . Still need to improve the fitting though.
View attachment 2912910View attachment 2912911
Sadly she still isn’t very mobile and will signal to me when she wants to move somewhere or wants foods or drinks (which is a chore). So tonight im planning to build her a wheelchair.

What a cute girl! HOw did you make the diaper? All my attempts have been fails

 

[Diveks]

What a cute girl! HOw did you make the diaper? All my attempts have been fails

i followed the diy from this forum, here it is https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-make-a-chicken-diaper-a-how-to-with-pictures.65571/
took some trial and error of the measurements and had to resew some of the parts but this time it looked like it was working well as the poop got into the pouch and no poop got on her vent feathers, although i put in the liner wrong so i had to wash the diaper.

 

[Callender Girl]

Dottie, my house chicken, is more than 2 years old. She was a "gift" from the local farm store, the last mystery layer chick in with a bunch of big, bullying broilers. It was too cold for her to live outdoors before she fully feathered. I tried to integrate her with some of the others in the spring, but she seems to have a real fear of other chickens (go figure).

Dottie lives in a giant wire dog crate (formerly held a Great Pyrenees) with a floor. When the weather is nice, she goes outdoors for field trips but avoids all the other chickens. She gets along with one of the rescue dogs and a cat in the house; the second, newer rescue dog and Dottie are NOT friends because George is a bit too eager to play with her. There is a certain charm to being able to walk into the dining room and "gather" a fresh egg for breakfast!

Dots is destined to be a house chicken forever, but your girl may not be. One of my Cochin Bantams had to have surgery on her leg ( and God bless the vets who will do those operations!) and had to be separated from the flock for a while. Sally's leg has lost all its feathers but still has a blood supply so we opted not to amputate. She hops around on her good leg, using the other for balance.

You might think the others would pick on her, but Sally is a beast! She holds her own with all the full-sized chickens, and just yesterday, the very arrogant little Cochin rooster felt her wrath. He walked up to Sally, looking very regal, and she ran him under one of the coops. Nobody puts Sally in a corner!

Best of luck with your lovely girl, and bless you for loving her!

 

[Diveks]

Dottie, my house chicken, is more than 2 years old. She was a "gift" from the local farm store, the last mystery layer chick in with a bunch of big, bullying broilers. It was too cold for her to live outdoors before she fully feathered. I tried to integrate her with some of the others in the spring, but she seems to have a real fear of other chickens (go figure).

Dottie lives in a giant wire dog crate (formerly held a Great Pyrenees) with a floor. When the weather is nice, she goes outdoors for field trips but avoids all the other chickens. She gets along with one of the rescue dogs and a cat in the house; the second, newer rescue dog and Dottie are NOT friends because George is a bit too eager to play with her. There is a certain charm to being able to walk into the dining room and "gather" a fresh egg for breakfast!

Dots is destined to be a house chicken forever, but your girl may not be. One of my Cochin Bantams had to have surgery on her leg ( and God bless the vets who will do those operations!) and had to be separated from the flock for a while. Sally's leg has lost all its feathers but still has a blood supply so we opted not to amputate. She hops around on her good leg, using the other for balance.

You might think the others would pick on her, but Sally is a beast! She holds her own with all the full-sized chickens, and just yesterday, the very arrogant little Cochin rooster felt her wrath. He walked up to Sally, looking very regal, and she ran him under one of the coops. Nobody puts Sally in a corner!

Best of luck with your lovely girl, and bless you for loving her!

thank you! ill see if keeping her in the brooder or crate would be better for her. she is currently re growing her leg feathers but might be re plucked next surgery anyway so she might need the extra warmth im not sure. hoping to get her outside with the rest of the flock.

would love a house chicken but don't really have the space for one currently. wishing the best for you and your chickens!