Yes, she is wearing a vest (this picture is a few months old), which I made from a large piece of felt and some velcro. It had problems staying on her without getting tangled up, though, so I had more success with a medium-sized dog sweater (since she is a large chicken), bought from Wal-Mart for $5.00. I cut the arm-holes bigger on each end of both of them, to accommodate her wings.
She appears to be a trans-rooster (trans-cock?), but hens often have big combs too, so who knows? But since she doesn't appear bothered to be called a she, I continue to do it, because she looked like a hen, to start out with.
A few years ago her feet started becoming stiff, and she had trouble walking. She still has trouble walking. Her feet are crippled up, so she moves slowly and is more careful about her balance than the other chickens. She lives alone so that the other chickens don't bother her or try to mate with her.
But she lives a happy life. She is very active, when it is warm and sunny. I see her preening herself often, which means that she feels good and plans to live. She has survived a bobcat attack and subsequent tumble down a twenty-foot hill, without a scratch. She was extremely lucky, and my dad is an excellent shot. She has survived bumblefoot infection, also, weeks before I knew what it was and therefore how to treat it. She is a great birdie, and she wants to live!
The most important thing you could ever do for your disabled animal, is just to believe in them. I occasionally get asked why I don't put her "out of her pain," but she is NOT in pain; she is disabled. That is all.
She has learned how to lean on something and stretch her foot behind her, and in the summer, I've seen her lying down to stretch her legs. It has caused me concern, but when I approached, she got up. She's actually very fast, in the summer, if she decides she doesn't like me!
Believe in your animal. It will take some time to adjust, for them and for you, but they will learn to live with their disability and lead happy and active lives, as much as they can.
She is not the most severely disabled chicken I've had, either; a rooster became paralyzed, though not in pain, and lived in a large box in my room for a few weeks before he died. I'm only sorry that my cock in a box died. I gave him the best life I could, as long as I could. I owed him as much, after he took over raising four babies after the death of his wife (please put out large pans of water for chickens in the summer, by the way, to help them cool off; I wish I had known this, since the water was only big enough for the babies to wade in). My mom called him Mooster, short for Mama Rooster.
Believe in your birdie, and believe in yourself. To be blunt, one of three things will happen: The recently injured, sick, or disabled animal will either die; heal completely; or you will get over your initial discouragement, be easy on yourself and stop feeling guilty, and find ways to make caring for them easier and more enjoyable. I was feeling so guilty, helpless, and discouraged when she first started having problems, and now she is my favorite chicken and my beloved pet.
I will post an article about what I feed her and how I water her, soon. It is vitally important that disabled chickens eat healthy food and not junk food, much more important than for able-bodied free range chickens, who can go eat bugs and grass whenever they want to; disabled chickens have very limited choices. It's also so very important that your special pet chicken gets enough water, since they can't drink water any time they want to.
I will also mention how to keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer--again, much, much more important than for other chickens, birds, or animals, because they are not nearly as mobile.
And I will talk about how to pick her up comfortably, because she needs to feel secure and know that she will not be dropped.
But the first thing you've got to do, and the most important, is to believe in your birdie--and believe in yourself!
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