Cricket Contest

[MisfitCritterCo]

This is my sweet Chicken, Funky. Funky was abused as a baby, causing many issues the biggest of which was multiple badly healed fractures. The vet’s best guess is she was kicked, then was thrown into the bottom of the coop expected to die of her injuries. She held on long enough that someone hired to clean the coop heard her crying and saved her. She’s since needed the bad leg amputated and the hip pinned/plated into place. Her feathers have grown back and the sores have healed, she’s now my best friend. She loves crickets, and at the rate she eats them they get very expensive to buy. My girl has seen the worst humans can be, it’s my job to show her the best.

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[Zoodulcis]

This is one of the best rescue stories that I have heard in a while.  With any luck Funky will be a companion to you for a long time to come. It’s funny how rescued animals just seem to get it, although it may take awhile.  I have a funky silky story of my own.  Once upon a time, on a cold and snowy January morning in the Colorado Rockies, I  heard my favorite silky rooster screaming for help.  I leaped out of bed and ran outside (naked) into the deep snow to rescue him.  He had unwisely left the barn early and a passing goshawk had already torn one side of his face off.  I had to grab the hawk by the throat to get him to let go, so intent and hungry was he. The hawk flew off, minus some feathers, and the rooster was taken into the house, minus some face.  He was cleaned and warmed up and pampered for the rest of his life (another 2 years). We named him Super Chicken.  He had a name before that but don’t remember what it was now.  Super Chicken had an astonishing will to live, and also became an amazingly sociable bird, more so than before his brush with the grim reaper.  It was almost as if he knew and appreciated the efforts made on his behalf. So long live funky chickens!!  I hope you win this month’s crickets.

How does Funky do with the urge to scratch for forage with only one leg?  Has she found interesting ways to compensate or has she just modified her behavior to avoid going there?

[MisfitCritterCo]

Awe! Yes they’re very greatful. She doesn’t seem to really have the urge as her bad leg was never really useable, she digs her beak into the food and swipes back and fort, which I think might be her way of foraging. She also knows that if she needs help a high pitched squalk summons human assistance. She rubs on the furniture if she’s got an itch because trying to use her beak she gets thrown off balance easily. It feels like she and I have some form of understanding, I have a genetic collagen disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and I’m on surgery 31 coming next week, and if I have a bad day (metal hips, so the weather is very impactful on my pain levels) she hops up next to me and starts rubbing her face on me like “I know something’s wrong, I’ll help”.

[Zoodulcis]

Thank you so much for your response!  I too have found that animals know when you are sick, having a bad day, experiencing something really negative and so forth.  My mother had a cat that was definitely ‘her cat’ when I was a teen who was  sick with the flu every for Thanksgiving for at least 5 years running.  Blubus McTubbus (my name for him, which he hated) was not a fan-boy of moi by any means, except when I had the flu during a family holiday.  Then he was at my side every single time, snuggling against me, purring even, whether I had a fever or not (so that particular variable can be laid to rest).  Although he didn’t dislike me, he just preferred my mother, no harm, no foul.  His behavior when I was sick was so extremely contrary to his usual mojo, that it has stuck with me over 40 years.  Therefore, for those you may know that say you are mistaken, or worse, it’s just a chicken, pay no mind, for there are truths about the animal mind and heart that science does not yet fathom.  As with your syndrome (and it’s called a syndrome because there is a cloud of lack of understanding about it, at least at this time) your experience of a compassionate companion animal displaying what can only rationally be interpreted as empathy is completely valid. There may be many explanations out there for the possible ‘why’s’ that this may be so, which is wonderful, and makes this an interesting time for you to experience this with your silky girl. Just give the doubters their say, smile, and move on, knowing that you are not alone. Prayers for a successful procedure on the 31st and do keep us updated on how Funky responds to you post surgery.

[MisfitCritterCo]

Sometimes people just just like to assume animals don’t feel that justify their own actions. I’m doing well, had a couple bone fragments removed from around my spine and the broken vertebrae stabilized, Funky has been loyally by my side since I got back home

[Zoodulcis]

Blessed be the loyal and faithful poultry companion.  When you’re feeling even better, could you share the story of how came to rescue this sweet girl?

[Zoodulcis]

For some reason, it appears that your last post has gone astray.  Would you be so kind as to re-post it?

[MisfitCritterCo]

Absolutely, I’m not sure what happened there. I got funky through Facebook of all places, in the chicken groups I always post that I’ll take in any disabled or deformed chicks that they end up with as an alternative to just killing them like most. Those people I do my best not to judge, as many believe chickens/ducks/geese are exclusively miserable if they’re disabled. Someone contacted me on one of those posts because they’d found a feces caked, starving chick in the bottom of a coop that they had been hired to clean. She’d been in the bottom of the coop for at least two weeks, surviving off of what the healthy chickens dropped. The pressure sores she had were intense, she was malnourished, and barely hanging on. Some other rescuers were kind enough to relay her to me, like passing a torch. As I earned her trust, we started working on the leg, trying bracing, wheelchair PT, hydrotherapy, everything we could think of, and she was miserable. She cried constantly, didn’t move around much, it was obvious that she was in pain and it was time to accept that we needed to go to more extreme measures, either surgery or euthanize. I started looking for a surgeon willing to work on “just a chicken” and found one near me. After a detailed consultation, her contacting vets across the country, and a lot of worry she agreed to try and do the surgery. I fund raised through rescues and individuals (considering I’m a broke college kid) and somehow was able to gather the $600 for the complicated procedure. April 18th I handed her over to the avian orthopedic surgeon. The amputation went without complication, that is when she noticed the hip was deformed from injury as well so she pinned and plated it into place. She was happier instantly. We struggled to control her pain, rotating 4 meds around the clock, but got it under control. Day 1 she was standing with the support of her wheelchair, by day 3 she was taking a couple hops, and by a week out she was hopping independently. After examining the amputated leg, the vet determined the deformity was likely from a kick. Now my girl gets around great, she has a bit of a deformed beak from malnutrition, and some scars from the sores, but otherwise is a healthy happy chickie.

[Zoodulcis]

OMG, ya gotta wonder at the kinda human being that would kick a helpless chick!  Fortunately, the human equation is balanced by people like you.  $600 raised for her surgery!  You go girl.  May I ask what kind of pain meds were administered?  It may be useful info for other readers.

[MisfitCritterCo]

Ikr!! If you’re going to be so cruel, why would you just leave her to suffer like that. I was amazed that I managed to raise the money, I was so upset thinking I’d have to have her put down after surviving all that. She was given Metacam, Gabapentin, Rymadyl and then extra strength arnica gel, we also gave her a couple doses of chicken safe CBD (it has to be 100% THC free, birds are very sensitive to it). We did cold packs 20min on 40min off. If anyone is near northeast Indiana, Dr. Patricia Funnel is amazing! She was worth the hour drive to say the least, she treated funky like a cat or dog would be treated. She also neutered my one rescue mouse. For people that don’t know, in chickens signs of pain are panting, prolonged high pitch noises, being uninterested in food, and just being restless. I think it was more the hip that caused her pain, I know that my hip surgeries were tough.

[Zoodulcis]

Wow…that was a tremendous amount of detail that I would like to delve into once this holiday weekend is over.  I particularly want to know more about the drugs prescribed and why.  I did take the time to look up Dr. Funnell in order to craft a shout out for her.  I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that she is a raptor enthusiast and has goats, just like me.  Would you agree that something like a cosmic group tour brings such folks as you, me, and Dr. Pat all into the same sphere?  Twilight Zone, a bit, I know, but I have learned to recognize and accept what cannot fully be explained.  Since Dr. Pat does reptiles, I would love it if she could post on this site, and encourage patients with herps in need of care to visit us here and perhaps even order from us!  Just a quick July 4th thought.  More later this week, I promise.

[MisfitCritterCo]

She’s totally amazing! I love my little brat, basically those are two NSAIDS a topical analgesic and a nerve pain medication, we only did 3 doses of the gaba right after surgery, but it seemed to help, the CBD I got on my own. Past the first couple days she was on the one NSAID and antibiotic with the arnica, but those first few days I was pestering her constantly.

[MisfitCritterCo]

You know how we talked about the connection. Well I’ve had a tough 72 hours, stress, health complications and all kinds of emotional tornados. I plopped on the couch. She hopped over and used her step to hop square in the middle of my chest and i kid you not she hugged me.

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[Zoodulcis]

What a great photo.  She knew just the right thing to do.  Animals are so amazing that way.  I hope your coming week is a little more pleasant for you, but if it isn’t Funky will be there for you.

[Zoodulcis]

Moderator Zoodulcis here just checking in on you and Funky.  Healing going well?

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