Zane, Chapter 7/Update

[Farmer Kitty]

Hopefully the new year will bring some Dullsville your way! This year sure has been rough for you.

 

[wegotchickens]

.

 

[cyanne]

Have you considered the possibility of amputating the affected leg? I've heard of people having chickens who lost a leg to a predator and were still able to get around just fine. Or, depending on where the limb was removed, maybe you could design some sort of prosthetic leg that he could use for balance.

I read about a parrot that had lost both legs and the owner was able to design prosthetic legs so he was able to maintain his quality of life. Also, there was an article out just the other day about a horse who lost a leg after Katrina and was able to be fitted for one.

A fancy high-tech leg would probably be too expensive, but we have a lot of smart, resourceful folks on here who might be able to come up with something.

Obviously anything like this would depend on whether you felt it would be the best thing for your boy. No matter what, though, you have shown him an incredible amount of love and perseverance to get this far.

 

[speckledhen]

I hate this. Guess I've been blind or just in denial. Zane's hock joint is full of fluid, top, back and side. When I took him out of the playpen to put the rice bag on the joint to warm it up, it was obvious that it's infected again. I thought it was enlarged, had stupidly had decided it was just swelling in the joint, but I believe we have infection again. And you cant fight it-it's not like there is an open wound that becomes infected. This happens all inside. No wonder he isn't making any progress. So here I am again, sitting with a rooster in my lap, crying into his feathers with my face against his. It's always the really special ones, isn't it? Darn. I've just run out of options here. Even surgery has no guarantees that it wont set up a new cycle of infection all over again, even if I could afford it.

 

[65browneyes]

Oh, Gosh, Cyn........I'll be thinking of you today.

 

[skyfires]

I'm so sorry Speckled,,,,,I know what your feeling,,,I've been there with one of my hens,,,,her leg broken by another hen,,,they suffer,,,we work on them,,,try everything,,,fall in love with them,,,,its so hard,,,,all the money in the world won't make much difference here,,, you a tough choices to make here,,,, were with you,,,you have support here,,what ever is your choice,,your tough remember,,,

:aww :aww

:aww

 

[d.k]

* Ah, Cyn- I am so sorry!! Can it be aspirated out, maybe? I cannot even imagine what this has been like for you. Demm. DEMM!!

 

[speckledhen]

We spent months draining fluid and pieces of gunk from that joint, dk. If we cut into it again, we start that cycle all over again. I have so many antibiotics, but none of them worked till this last one that Peter Brown sent me, the Cipro. Thought we had this infection kicked out once and for all with that, but no. The joint really needs to be opened up surgically and cleaned out, then I'm afraid after that, we'd find too much damage inside to really make the surgery worth doing. In other words, it would probably just clean out the infection, not cure the problem, but then, the infection could still build up again anyway. This is so hard to face.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

You could pluck some feathers and lance it to drain it then try treatment again but, you had so much trouble with it before. It's hard to know what to do.

 

[speckledhen]

It is hard, Kitty. Everything about this is hard. Poor sweet innocent Zane. He doesnt deserve this.