The Case of the Disabled Chicken

I found one of my hens on her side in the coop Monday. She was surrounded by her peers. Good grief, now what's going on? Is she disabled and being attacked? It happens in the barn that sometimes someone gets stepped on, old, or tired and ends up dying. But this one is different.

The hen wasn't looking too worse for wear and is only a year and a half old. She had bright eyes and a bright pink comb. But her legs and wings weren't working. She would try to stand up and would just plow forward on her side. Hmmmmm. Didn't look like she was going to expire anytime soon.

With over 40 hens, I take care not to name anybody. Even if I could!  But there are the roosters--easy to recognize. The different colored ones---2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Barred Rock, and the rest end up in the blur of Black Sex Link, Gold Star, Reds, and Australorps. But now there is one special Black Sex Link hen who is getting a lot of attention.

She has a bed on a shelf in the coop with the rest of the girls and has her own food and water. Her friends come up and roost by her. Probably to help her eat her special treats! I'm happy nobody seems to be picking on her. I pick her up a few times a day and give her a chance to test her legs and have a stretch. In the years I have had hens only a few have ever let me touch them, let alone carry them around so it has been a novelty to have a physical bond with one of the lovelies.