A couple of weeks ago I came outside to see the most pathetic sight (other than any of the Kardashian shows) these two eyes have ever seen.
There, dragging herself through the chicken run, was Norma. The gimpy chicken. While all the other chickens ran at break beak speed to come and see me, Norma hobble-limped halfway towards me, gave up and then laid down. At which point all of the other chickens sensed a weak member in their flock and attacked her. Just like that they turned on one of their own. Again, not unlike the Kardashians.
I immediately went into medic mode, strapped a flashing red light to my head, screamed out some surprisingly loud siren sounds and made my way to Norma.
The first thing to do in assessing a chicken injury is to LOOK.
So I gently picked Norma up and gave her a thorough once over. I looked for broken bones sticking out, wounds and thorns. She looked fine. But it's hard to see through all of those feathers. The next thing I did was flip her over and take a look at the bottom of her feet. I was checking for Bumblefoot (a potentially deadly infection on the underside of a chicken's foot). No Bumblefoot.
The second thing to do is feel for warmth.
Like with other animals an easy way to check for pain or infection is the gently feel around the body parts. An injured area will often feel warmer than the rest of the body. No such luck with Norma.
The third thing to do is start guessing and eliminating.
The one thing it could possibly be was a case of Norma being egg bound. I wasn't convinced this was the case because it really looked like a sore foot or leg, but I wanted to be able to rule out the possibility of her being egg bound (also life threatening).
So I did what you're supposed to do to make her feel better. I put her in a bath and got ready to stick my finger up her bum. No idea if this applies to the Kardashians as well. I suspect it does.
Norma was incredibly cooperative.
I sat her in the kitchen sink filled with warm water and went about my business in the kitchen. She didn't seem to have any desire to move. She just sat there quietly, waiting for me to get her out.
The kitchen was a bit cool and Norma was wet, so I wrapped her in a towel which made her warm, dried her off a bit and had the added bonus of making her look like a superhero.
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Aftercare involves keeping the patient quiet and allowing them to rest.
Once the patient is able to eat and poop, they can be discharged.
I took her outside and gently put my finger in her bum. I was carefully checking to feel if there was an egg stuck in there. I didn't take pictures of that. I tried. But it's kindda awkward to hold a camera, a chicken and a suppository. Just kidding about the suppository. It was my actual finger that went up her bum. This is why as a chicken owner you should a) be brave and b) own an entire box of surgical gloves.
If you're desperate to see a chicken bum, which is also called the vent, you can see one here.
Norma was relaxed, there didn't seem to be an egg stuck in her and I was back to square one. There were two possibilities. She could have had a stroke. Or ... she could have just jumped off the roost a bit wonky and twisted something.
If a chicken has an injury that's causing them pain the easiest and most effective thing you can give them is ½ a baby aspirin.
So that's what Norma got. One half of a baby aspirin. If the limp went away that would let me know it was just a twisted ankle or pulled muscle. If it didn't help it could mean it was a stroke.
This is all random guessing of course, but that's what you do in these sorts of situations. Hell. It's what your doctor who went to a real medical school and everything does.
I held out the aspirin in the palm of my hand and she gobbled it up right away. I kept her away from the other chickens so she wouldn't be tormented and came back an hour later to check on her.
This is how she looked.
No limp. Or very little limp. So I knew that the injury was probably a muscle or inflammation issue, not a stroke. It isn't always great to mask the pain on an animal because as far as they're concerned as soon as the pain goes away, it's hokey pokey time. A free for all of running, jumping and playing hopscotch. They don't know the pill is masking the pain and they still have an injury they need to be gentle with. The simple truth is they just aren't smart enough (insert your own Kardashian joke here).
So with animals you have to use a bit common sense. If I left Norma with her limp she'd be more careful with her injury ... but only for the next 16 hours or so, until the other chickens devoured her alive.
Chickens can spot weakness faster than a schoolyard bully looking for lunch money. And they can take down your average 9 year old quicker.
So that's why I opted to give Norma half an aspirin until her leg healed. The injury lasted for about 5 days so I prescribed ½ a baby aspirin every morning.
And now you're going to think I'm weird. A loon. A bit of a softie. Since I helped Norma I've noticed she's become much friendlier with me. She's no Cuddles, but she lets me pick her up and look her over without a single squawk. Once she even asked me how my day was.
I told her it was O.K. I mean, I couldn't keep up with the Kardashians. But who can?
Karen, at the end of each post it gives me posts with similar solutions. For this one there's several on the chicken coop ... and one on how to make the best chicken burgers ever.
Made me laugh.
Oh, Norma has such a cute fluffy chicken butt!
When my chicken got sick, I just brought her in to live with me until she got better. I'm not sure why that worked, considering I was still a kid and living in my parents' house and she made my room smell vile, but...they let me keep her in there until she got better.
However, I never gave her aspirin. I am going to write that down. I'm glad I know where I can find a chicken doctor, if needed. (meaning you)(well, meaning your blog, actually)
It is truly another world in Karenland, and a better one at that.
Oh heck. It's just the same old same old here. But you know what would kick it up a notch? Linen chicken capes. ~ karen
No - silk velvet lined with satin - though on second thoughts brocade would disguise the chicken pooh better.
I have to say, when I opened the email containing your message I just saw a picture of a chicken and a picture of a cleaver so I thought your chicken was going to meet her maker and maybe end up in a stew.
Karen, you rock! Your animals are very lucky to have you as a friend.
What I want to know is, where were the cats? Aren't they fairly interested in the chooks?
Pam'a - The cats didn't seem to care. I can't remember if they didn't happen to wander into the kitchen or what, but there weren't any problems. Besides, it's the cats that need to be worried. A chicken could rip em apart. ~ karen!
So I'm not a chicken mama, nor any kind of mama, and after reading all these posts the only thing I can think about about is WHAT do you DO with an egg-bound chicken??? How do you get it out of there? Does the finger up the vent release steam or something? I'm going to be up all night thinking about that, and not because I want to be... bet you a nickle I'll dream about egg-bound Kardashians. Yick.
LOL! ~ karen
EGG BOUND KARDASHIANS !!! ROTFLMBO !!!!
Hilarious but super instructive - thanks for posting!
I love the hen story especially the short videos. Glad she is ok.
fantastic stuff! thanks for the laughs.
this was so educational. i learned so much about chickens and their community and trouble-shooting them! and i can't believe how invested i am in norma and her physical well-being. i almost cried seeing her sitting quietly in the sink. i think i need chickens real bad now. xo
This was really funny. I feel bad for having KFC for dinner. If I'm to continue reading this blog, I may have to give it up.
Did you keep Norma separated from the other hens the whole time she was recuperating? Or did you put her with the rest of the girls at night? When one has chickens, does one have to plan on occasional separations and therefore have a separate area for ones that need alone time?
Hi Ellen. No, I didn't have to keep Norma separated because once I gave her the aspirin she no longer had a limp and therefore wasn't perceived as the weak chicken. If I hadn't been able to fix her I would have had to separate her until she was healed otherwise the others would have harmed her. I've had to separate my chickens on several occasions due to various issues. I didn't make any special place for them. Sometimes I keep them on one side of the coop, separated by a screen, other times I bring them inside. It's never been for more than a day or so. ~ karen!
I just texted my boyfriend your "up close and personal" photo of a chicken vent. Thanks for making that possible.
You bet. ~ karen
Norma is a fine chicken. I'm glad she's feeling better and your finger only had to go so far...
The things we do for the creatures we love!
Welcome back. Your kitchen floor is lovely. I hope you are feeling better or, like Norma, are on the mend. I missed you in my inbox.
Now your other chickens are going to start limping when Norma tells them about her "spa day".
OMG.. You are a hot mess.... You crack me up... I am so glad you are back. that man of yours was a dumb ass. Thank You for starting my day off with a laugh. You need to be writing books...
So glad you're back.
My mothers name was Norma....she was grumpy too! ...and when ever I helped her when she was sick (which was often) (she was a hypochondriac of sorts) she became very docile as well! LOLOL
I have teased my hubs about getting chickens...but we cannot imagine the extra work right now! Our garden is giving us a real heartbreak at present!...we have lost our entire beet harvest to a vole or gopher or something...we have been battling this all summer...first our garlic, then potatoes , now the beets! I am SICK over it...I can my beets every year and they were beautiful this year! I tried your chiaoggia ones BTW and OMG! My favorite now (of the few I got)...even more than the golden beets (which I LOVE) ....they were all ready for harvest and beautiful and we planted extra this year for canning! :((( My local organic farmer told me to get some outdoor cats! He said this would solve the problem. We cannot get cats. Severe allergies...
I haven't talked my Husband into chickens yet so I just have a dog tale or tail. Recent visit to the vet got us a reprimand for our Diva dog being over weight Nick name Chub Chub. We have started walks but its not working at all or very fast. Wanting to be a good dog Mom I found a place that I could take her swimming with me for exercise. At first she was afraid then it was love for me and the water. So the new problem is this dog is my Husbands baby and she has been sticking to me like glue. Bonding over water its powerful, watch out with Norma. So happy your back.