Chicken is Bored!

I'm feeling much better thanks...

Just over a week with the bandages and my little inside chicken is a bored and noisy chicken. Sorry darling, but you need isolation and rest and can't be trusted! After several hours of noise there was sudden silence. I checked on her and found her on top of her box wondering how to get down again. Well you got up there so you can get down!

The bandage lasted a week before she managed to rip off a section that secures under her belly to hold the wing in the right position. We've patched it with clothtape which she is not happy about. She has started to walk sideways and backwards in an attempt to get the yucky bandage off.

The new dog cage is excellent for her and it folds up so we can store it easily. She has a little nest box and room to stand and walk while being completely enclosed and safe while we're at work. Her favourite time is when I open the door to clean and feed her for the day and out she pops to have a walk around the kitchen. I've moved her so that she can't see as much open space during the day to make her feel more secure but she still gets plenty of light.

To stave off boredom I bought her a mirror and some little balls (cat toys) to play with, but she hasn't been very interested in them when I've watched her. She also has a variety of food, shell grit and some grass from outside as well as mash with ground up cuttlefish for calcium at night. I also sprinkle sunflower seeds (her favourite) in her cage so she has to look for them.

She has started to enjoy having a cuddle and a scratch in the last 2-3 days. I think she is getting very itchy and frustrated at not being able to dust bath. The feathers are starting to get a bit messy.

Three more weeks till she can get the bandage off and be reintroduced to the others. The pecking order will have changed and she will have to reassert herself, but I think we're all looking forward to it.

Lucky Elsie

Elsie with a broken wing

Elsie is inside at the moment because she was attacked by a cat and I have a big case of the guilts. It is mostly my fault as my other half and I forgot to close up their yard on Tuesday night as daylight savings shifted around all their times and they wouldn't go in at dinner time... but hell! Damn cats!! My pets don't go into your yard and attack your pets!!

She is a lucky lucky little girl and only ended up with a broken wing and a mild case of shock. The poor little darling was so scared - scared double after we ran out screaming to scare the cat and I grabbed her and rushed inside. When she realised she was safe she cuddled right into me and didn't want to get up when we had a safe box organised. We've never had a cat go for them before even when we've been a little late shutting them in. >:(

We got in to see an Avian vet on Friday. I was really impressed - he was a very attentive no fuss man who focused on her and thankfully could set the bone so she didn't need an operation or amputation. It is lucky she is a non-flight bird or it would have been worse. She has tape holding the wing in the right position and a vet bandage over top and the poor little girl looks uncomfortable and off balance. She has a little area in the chicken yard to be near the others, but they want to peck at her bandage which is why there is netting over the temporary fence and I have to ensure she doesn't pull it off or move it herself. In a month she has another trip to the vet to remove the bandages and check the healing. Until then, isolation and preventing her from doing to much with lots of calcium suppliment.

Ysterday she was a little brighter, but we have to keep an eye on her. When it gets too much she likes to come back inside and sit in her box by herself. She was hunched and withdrawn for about three days. I was glad the shock didn't last too long though. Its lucky she is used to being handled!

Anyone who lets their cat roam at night shouldn't have a cat!!

If you ever have an accident with one of your birds and need to treat for shock the best thing is to organise a box or darkened cage where they can be by themselves in darkness and quiet. The first 24 hours is the most critical to keep them quiet and safe. Offer water and food - a bird in shock will often drink a lot of water but won't take food.

Elsie took few seeds on the day after her injury. I made a mash from pollard and natural yoghurt which she ate slowly. It wasn't much, but it was something in her stomach which is a positive sign of recovery.

For her calcium suppliments I am grinding up cuttlefish and adding it to a small mash nightly for her. She is currently eating well again and starting to perk up and look happier.