This morning I was eager to open the henhouse door so the girls had more room to establish the new pecking order. Standing at the doorway, right where I put her in, was a Red sex-link - holding one foot up. My first thought was, "Oh no! I shut her foot in the door!" But I knew I hadn't. Finally, the poor girl made it out on one leg into the chicken yard, when I realized it wasn't Lucy, but Lucille! I scattered some cracked corn all over the yard to keep everyone busy (with extra near Lucille so she wouldn't have to move) and went to the house to get my vet. Mind you, my vet doesn't do chickens, but he was able to confirm my suspicions and put a pretty pink cast her on her broken toe (just kidding!).
As for Lucy (as ID'd by her green leg band), she's holding her own just fine; in fact, I haven't heard any extra squawking from the chicken pen today. I didn't clip her wing just in case the intro went badly, and she hasn't "flown the coop." She seems to be enjoying the good eats (layer crumbles and cantaloupe remains along with the cracked corn). If she had been the injured bird, I would have suspected everyone ganged up on her this morning; since it's Lucille, I'm mystified!While the vet was out on a farm call, I had him look at Jackson. This morning during chores he started acting like something got in his left ear. I looked, of course, but could see nothing. Rick's otoscope wasn't fully charged so he couldn't get a good look, either; we'll try again tonight.
That's all the drama for now at . . .
7 comments:
Hey, I actually had a chicken in a pink cast once. I kid you not. Long story. Anyway, I'm glad Lucy2 is working out with the other girls.
Ah the joys of the idyllic farm life!
Love the chicken stories...keep them coming
I had a young goose that had an injured weak tendon at the end of his wing so it flopped outward. He got to wear a duct tape sling until his tendon mended. It worked great. His feathers were in rough shape until they grew back in after we cut the duct tape off them.
Awww...I was looking forward to seeing a girlie-pink toe cast!
I'm wondering about this red sex-link thing. When I was little, my mom raised Rhode Island Reds, and they looked just like Lucille and the Lucys. What EXACTLY is a red sex-link chicken?
Kathleen, I didn't know what sex-link chickens were either, until recently! Google "Red sex-link chickens" and you'll get a better definition than I can give here. They are a Rhode Island cross that hatches out in two colors, so you can tell the boys and girls apart as chicks (what a smart idea, huh?). Our Rhode Island Reds are a uniform red, with maybe some darker red in the tail. The Red sex-links we have acquired have blond tail and neck feather accents, easily distinguishable from the Rhodies.
I hope Lucille gets better quickly. Glad Lucy2 is doing ok.
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