ajsflock
In the Brooder
- Jun 20, 2020
- 7
- 21
- 21
Cinnamon, one of my speckled sussex babies, seemed odd when we brought her home.
The other three chicks would be running around, but Cinnamon just flopped over to sleep.
At first we just joked about her being lazy, but after a couple days I realized something was wrong with her. I checked and sure enough she had a prolapsed vent.
This is the first time I’ve had any issues with my chicks- and I guess I’m early in the game, so it’s inevitable.
We’ve had her for a week now, and her vent seems to be back inside of her body, but she still isn’t growing.
Her legs seem pale and weak, she doesn’t stand but uses her wings to get around, and wasn’t eating at first.
I’ve gotten her to eat scrambled eggs+mealworms mixed into medicated feed, and she loves it. She’s drinking sav-a-chick and had honey water for a few days (I then read that honey has spores that can be damaging to chicks- so I hope that wasn’t detrimental to her health)
I’ve opened emergency commissions on my art account and already raised over $30 to help her, and if I get enough we’re bringing a fecal sample to the vet to test her for parasites or disease, but they charge an upfront fee of $200 + a lot more for whatever they can do, and no one is chicken savvy, only one of our many vets will even see chickens. Most people, even in my farming state, just put down the strugglers or try their best at home.
I’m not giving up on Cinnamon, though.
I sit with her and make sure she eats many times throughout the day, I make sure she drinks water, I let her see her sisters, and I try to help her stand up by giving her support on her belly. I always make sure to gently straighten her legs out after she’s lay down all day, so that they don’t get too stiff or weak. She sometimes stands a little bit, with help from her wings, to drink water. Her wing feathers are growing the same as the others’ but she’s just so small compared to them.
I’ve rescued a runt bunny who I was told had no chance of survival, and now he’s my best friend, and the biggest, strongest and sassiest bunny I know.
If Cinnamon lives another day, week, month, or many years, I’ll be proud of her. I’m proud of her every time she eats or stands, because she’s not giving up and neither am I.
I’ll keep her inside as a house chicken if she’s too weak to live with the others. I’ll make sure she gets her extra special care she deserves.
I hope she’s a miracle baby like my bunny, Floyd, was.
<3
Image attached is after last nights “physical therapy”, where she flattened her feet out and stood with some help. I believe in you, Cinnamon!!
