Dizzy the Pirate Chicken -- and tales of how to help injured animals

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July 22, 8:58 AM

by Mary Choate, Denver Gardening Examiner

 

 

Dizzy and device

        When we first got Dizzy the Pirate Chicken, she was a fuzzy black day old chick, just like any other of the Ancona chicks. When she was only four days old, though, one of her companions pecked her while they were playing, injuring her inner ear. Another of the Ancona chicks, named Goober, also got injured by having his wings pecked. 

Dizzy and Goober lived in a box together, separated from the other chicks while they healed. Goober, apart from the scratch on his wing, was still an active and healthy chick. Dizzy, though, was uncoordinated from her injury so that she always walked in a small circle and could only turn her head one direction. Goober would help Dizzy by showing her to eat and drink, and she learned to spin over to the food and water (since she couldn’t walk in a straight line). Goober would sing to her while she slept and healed.

After a week in the “hospital” they were ready to go back to their friends. Goober’s wing was all healed, but Dizzy would never be recovered. Her inner ear was permanently damaged, even when the initial injury healed, so that she would always turn to one side instead of going straight. Whenever the other chicks would run in play, she would spin in a circle, trying to play too. She learned to maneuver to her food and water, and to stand still to be picked up.

Standing at an angle is hard on growing bones, which require even pressure for even growth. If growing bones are used unevenly for extended times, they will grow crooked to compensate for the irregular use. This is what happened to Dizzy: she stood and turned sideways, and her legs grew twisted to compensate. She especially did not use her right leg as well, as she was always leaning and turning to the left. So, it grew more and more crooked. The more crooked it grew, the more she stood at an angle, and the more crooked it grew still. When she was 8 weeks old, she walked like a pirate because of the way she had come to use (and develop) her right leg. Yet, she was still healthy and happy, and could hobble around to do her chicken activities.

She was still growing, though, and her legs continued to become more malformed. Her left leg became more malformed also, so that she depended more on half-flying, half-scooting to get around. She was moved to her own cage so she could get around easier, with one companion: a gentle Orpington who we named Smee for being a good Pirate Chicken first mate.

As she kept growing her legs got worse. There was not much to do for them: the problem was more complex than braces would have fixed. When she was almost grown up, it became too difficult for her to move between her food and water, and to clean herself well. But she was still happy and healthy, even with her special needs. She just needed special help to be able to reach her food and water and to stay clean.

So we built her a “pirate ship” to live in: her own cage, where she swings in a hammock from which she can reach her food and water without trouble, and can stay cleaner too. Her hammock is flexible so she can wiggle around in it, helping to keep her muscles from atrophying. She had ropes to play with, and when the weather is nice we move her cage outside so she can enjoy it too. She gets baths and “pedicures” when she needs them: she can’t reach all her feathers to clean them, and cannot keep her toenails and beak trimmed like free ranging chickens can, so we help her with these. She feels so good in her hammock that she’ll happily sing all day long.  

Her inner ear has healed well and she can turn her head both ways again, but the damage done to her from the injury makes her completely dependent upon people. 

Because of her regular dependency on people and her relative isolation from other chickens (she’s always had a few chickens to talk to, but never interacted with them normally) she has, more than most of the other chickens, developed a language that is clear enough for us to understand. She talks to us like she might have talked to other birds, but with clearly different “words” than the other chickens use: she makes her sounds distinctively enough for us to be able to tell the difference. She has a happy singing speech that she uses when she’s just been fed or is otherwise enjoying herself. She also has an “I’m bored” noise, an “I’m hungry” noise, a “don’t bother me” noise, and a plain “hello” noise. None of these noises sound similar to the chicken noises that the socialized chickens make.

Smee has been reintroduced to the flock, but has a hard time socializing. However, Smee is making good progress, and is learning how to talk to the other birds.

We play with Dizzy and talk to her, and even give her treats. Since she has no other chickens to socialize with, we make sure that she doesn’t grow lonely or depressed. 

When Dizzy is fully grown in a few weeks, she will begin laying eggs just like a non-disabled hen. Her hammock is constructed in a way that she should be able to do this comfortably and without breaking the egg when it lands. She will undoubtedly never be able to live free with the other chickens, but she’ll still be able to live a happy and productive life in her “pirate ship.” 

It is important to care for all your animals, even those with special needs. Though some animals can be cured, others will be sick or injured their entire lives. These animals require creative solutions.

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