Chicken 911

It was bound to happen....we had a chicken injury.

One day, a month or so ago...we had a big storm roll through the valley.

I was busy working away inside.

I looked up from doing the dishes and noticed I had left the door to the chicken run open.

The rain was driving into the coop.

I went outside in the diagonal rain and into the coop.

I saw all of the chickens huddled on their perch.

Then I spotted it...

Drops of blood.

Our poor hen was injured.

It was pretty bad...a big gash on her side behind her leg.

It actually moved when she walked.

I had read online on various chicken blogs

that chickens are exhibit cannibalistic behaviour.

The peak at the sight of red.

Its like animal OCD.

The bad part is when the wound gets infected because it isn't allowed to heal.

The solution may be...quarantine!

The next day I posted on Facebook a request for a dog cage or something I could use in a pinch.

A friend had said they could loan me a dog cage!

Hurray!

The very day I went to pick it up, someone stopped me and offered us a cat cage for $20.

This solution would solve our need over the long term...for VERY little cost!

It had shelves for the cat that hooked right onto the cage.

I set it up right away for our injured girl Clover.

Seriously!

How cozy does little Clover look???

Ches stopped by Sydenham Pet and Farm Supply and picked

up a small plastic version of a chicken water bottle.

I used the holder from a chip and dip dish for the feed bowl.

It worked so well..that a few weeks later (after we got our new girls)

our Americauna hen named Eagle was wounded.

She had a bloody area at the top of her tail feathers.

We're figuring she was being put in her place by one of the older girls.

I watched one of the older hens reopen the wound the very next day...

so that's when she had her turn in the hospital.

Added bonus:  The chicken hospital is in our basement.

The area of our house that is the coolest.

When we had that big heat wave in June...

Eagle was cool as a cucumber!

So far that is all of the chicken emergency stories 

I have to tell...thankfully!