You Can Heal With Energy

January 2010 - On January 10 I was given four five month old hens, including “Greta” who’d suffered a broken left wing as a chick. The vet said she would never fly or regain use of her wing.

Between her small stature and stunted wing, I found Greta easy to tell from the other three. Greta carried her healed wing higher, the wing was narrower and it protruded from her body, not fully covering her side, and had a pronounced ripple, looking as if it had been pinched.  Most chickens flap both wings at once; she kept her injured one closed while she flapped the other wing, which caused her to move in a circle. Without her wing she couldn’t climb onto anything, and if she fell she would land painfully, unable to break her fall with both wings. She slept on the ground, underneath where the others roosted. I noticed that she free-ranged separately from the others, a sign of a chicken sicker or weaker than its flockmates. Chickens use their wings for balance, to escape from predators and socially, and I knew Greta would be safer and happier if she could regain some function in her wing.

I did some remote QT as the chickens arrived, and a five minute QT session on her around Jan 20, during which I could feel her bones move and posture adjust. After that, I noticed that one time she roosted with the others. By Jan 24 she had caught up with the others in size, and she joined the flock sometimes while free-ranging. Her wing had lost it’s pinched, twisted look and had assumed a more normal shape and carriage. On January 30 she scratches at the kitchen door to be let in, so I pick her up and do more QT. After five minutes she flaps to be let down, and for the first time, I see her extend her injured wing and use it to glide from my arms to the ground. It is only about half the size of her right wing and will not extend as far, but she can and does use it. She is only slightly smaller than her sisters and is able to stay with the flock while free-ranging. 

Feb 24 update: With only a few minutes of QT lately, Greta’s wing is improving, it is still small but extends further and has new feathers. Greta is growing, laying an egg every day, and spends time with the other hens, even some larger and older than she is. She can now extend her wing to dustbathe and in a “stretch, fluff and flap” behavior like a normal chicken.