Topic of the Week - "Special Needs" Chickens

[chicks are life]

K thanks

 

[scoopsmom]

My "special needs" chicken is my rooster named Scoops (he had 2 lady friends named Ruffles and Lays) and he is a 4 month old Bantam Cochin. He has always been my favorite baby because he is very sweet and will jump right in my lap and go to sleep when I pet him.
About 2 months ago we had all our chickens out free ranging and somehow my dog got out. Scoops, even tho he was still a baby, followed his instincts and threw himself in front of his ladies to save them from the dog. By the time my mom got to him he was lifeless in front of my dog but when my mom went to pick up his body she realized he was still alive! He was in shock and was limp but the only visible injury was a little wound on the bottom of his foot. We have never had chickens before, so just judging by how limp he was we thought he'd be dead by morning, but my little fighter survived! I nursed him back to health in the house which deepened our attachment to one another. He's been down with his ladies since then except he is handicapped from the incident. He can't scratch like the other chickens and he doesn't have very good balance because he stumbles sometimes. I wish I could say my other chickens help him out but they treat him the same, except for one of my hens who has started bullying him and stealing his food. So now I'm trying to figure out how to manage the situation. Any tips? I'm feeding him treats separately now but yesterday I saw her pluck out 3 of his butt feathers. It really sucks because she is our favorite hen so I don't want to give up either of them

 

[chicks are life]

Separate her for a few days.
then put her back in she will have to refight her way back upon the pecking order so she shouldn't peck the other chickens or the rooster.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Separate her for a few days.
then put her back in she will have to refight her way back upon the pecking order so she shouldn't peck the other chickens or the rooster.

Good idea

 

[lilpaws]

I have a special needs chick, "Lucky Sunshine." She is less than a week a old, but has over come more in a few days than any other chick. Lucky Sunshine was born malpositioned in the egg with her legs above her head. There was no way she was getting out of that egg by herself. I had to assist her. She wanted out of that egg even though there was a hole in her abdomen. She could not walk, couldn't lift her head, and looked like she was dead. The next day I figured out she might have wry neck. She was syringe feed for the first few days and given lots of vitamins. I think she might actually just have a deformity in her neck due to the malpositioned in the egg. She can walk now though kinda side ways, can eat and drink by herself, and is just a special little girl/boy. Whether Lucky Sunshine makes it or not I know that I did everything I could to make sure she had a chance.

 

[MageofMist]

I had a special needs quail, a silvery-yellow looking chick that hatched about 2-3 days later than she should have, she still had her umbilical cord attached and could barely walk while her siblings were zooming about right after hatching, I was worried she wasn't gonna make it but we were both determined.

She eventually got the hang of walking and running as I put her on me and let her crawl and run about on me to build up strength, but some reason she couldn't stand still without falling over onto her left side and tended to lean to the left when walking and running, I used a syringe to drip water onto her beak for her to drink every few mins and thankfully she could eat for herself, pecking at the food while laying on her side like a pro.

About 4 days later of this TLC, she got more and more stable until she no longer had any issues standing anymore and could walk and run without leaning to the left, she had her pins which opened up into whitish-grey feathers, then one day... Suddenly the fact she was a silver tuxedo revealed itself by these dark grey feathers suddenly popping up on her back, and she lays some of the most beautiful greenish-blue eggs.


She is at the back, she pinned and feathered later than the others due to hatching later.


She is the one on the right below the yellow chick and two blue-faced ones

.
When she was getting her tuxedo, which I swear just popped up out of no-where.


This is her fully mature and seeking out millet, she pecks at my finger when I poke it through the bars.


And her greenish-blue egg which I swear is from a robin's nest compared to one of her sister's eggs who started laying a little after she started.

 

[chicks are life]

Those eggs are awesome!

 

[FrankieDoodle]

I had one chicken Frankie, that lost an eye, had balance problems & was at the bottom of the pecking order. She was the sweetest thing, & would love hugs. She wasn't that smart though, & we came home one day to find her in the rain, in a huge water puddle soaking wet. At the end of her life she spent two weeks sick, with a broken leg, before she finally died. I still love her to this day.

 

[chicks are life]

Pretty girl!

 

[crity]

Hi all! Okay, not QUITE sure if It was my fault, but I have a rooster, Shouty, with a twisted beak. It's not to the point of scissor beak, we just need to watch and trim it regularly, so it doesn't get to that point.

Out of about two dozen eggs I incubated, only two hatched. With my luck, they were both male. Shouty however, up till about three months of age, looked like a hen. You could imagine our surprise when they BOTH started crowing.

Shouty has always been calm, much like a dog. He will give you hugs, will sleep with you, and he will even respond to you if you say something to him. Using this, it wasn't long until he learned a few tricks. He would jump onto my arm and come when called. My vet asked us if we considered making him a therapy chicken. Since then, we have been to schools, day camps, and hospitals with him.

A little more about shouty is that he sits on eggs? I don't question him, because he isn't bothering anyone (except the hens who are all unhappy about it). I think he just wants to be helpful...

View attachment 1079210

How wonderful