Here is Part One: Believe In Your Birdie, and Part Two: Feeding And Watering.
Carrying:
Put one hand under the front of their belly, the other under the back of their belly. Support all of their body, and hold their body close to you, especially if they flap and try to get away. This will comfort them and calm them down.
Do not be afraid to put your hand under their backside. I have never been pooped on, doing this. Even if I were, I still don't want to stress her out, as I used to before I discovered this method of carrying her. I have been picked up in a way that scared me, as a child, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone or anything.
Yes, there is some dried-on poop under her backside, but that is common to all chickens, pretty much, and you should always wash your hands after handling a chicken, anyway.
This is the INCORRECT way to pick them up and handle them:
Notice where my thumbs are. I am pretending to pick her up underneath her wings, only supporting her on the front of her body. She used to hate this, before I discovered the other way. She was not supported properly, she was uncomfortable, and she did not feel safe--she felt like I would drop her. I've felt, as a child, that my bullying uncle would literally drop me on my head, and I still get stressed out just thinking about it. So I would never want to do that to my precious pet chicken.
Here is the CORRECT way to pick her up and hold her:
Notice where my hands are now. I am supporting both ends of her body (you cannot see my right hand in the second picture, but it is behind her legs and underneath her butt), so that she feels more secure, and all of her weight isn't on her front.
In the second picture, I am holding her against my body. This is not strictly necessary, since she is now used to being picked up by me, but she still sometimes freaks out and starts flapping her wings (especially if I have to get her from under the front deck). And I also feel better, knowing that I'm less likely to drop her (I haven't dropped her yet).
If they start to freak out and flap, put them down for a moment if you can and talk softly to them. You are more likely to drop them if you are being slapped in the face with their wings, so please take care of yourself and hold them against your body.
Talking To Them:
Talk in a happy but soothing voice to them. I used to talk in an excited, high-pitched voice to Antonia, but I realized that that scared her, and now she does not run away from me as much.
Tell them how much you love them and that they have worth. Everyone needs to hear that, and I believe that even if they don't understand your words, they will understand the emotion behind them. If you lose patience and cry or yell at them, as sometimes happens in the first stages of their disability, apologize and assure them that you love them, that you aren't mad at them, that this isn't their fault, and that they're still going to have a very good life, and that they'll get as much care as they need.
Moving Them Backwards In Their Cage:
Sometimes I have to move Antonia back or over in her kennel, so that I have room for her dinner or breakfast dishes. I put my hand under her chest, and gently push her back or move her over. Sometimes I have to do this multiple times. I hate having to do this, as it takes a moment for her to get her balance and get settled in the new position, but sometimes it has to be done. Be careful how fast or hard you move them. Do what you need to do, but have empathy for their struggle to gain their balance! :)
Dry Hay:
Antonia needs a little hay added to her cage (a large dog kennel) every few days, or whenever it becomes wet. She accidentally knocks all of her water dishes over, moving around at night, and so I have to pay attention to that. Feel the hay with your fingers, and if it feels wet, they need another layer--it doesn't have to be a lot, just enough to keep the moisture away from their feet and legs and keep them comfortable (and in the winter, warm). If there's a wet or soiled spot, cover that too. I have a plastic tote on my porch, in which I keep some hay from the barn, for convenience in helping Antonia and the guinea pigs. I don't have to go all the way to the barn, this way, when giving her dry bedding.
Changing her bedding is a real pain in the ass if you do it all at once, but you can do it in layers, taking some off the top and covering it back over with enough dry hay to keep her dry. You can do a little each day, over a few days, until you get to the bottom, when you pour the excess water out, rinse it out with the water hose if you can, and add lots of fresh hay. The smell will be bad, but it's better than the stinky hay piling up, and her having difficulty getting in and out of their cage, with her disability.
I don't change her hay as often as I probably should, but I make sure that it is dry and doesn't stink that badly, and that it doesn't pile up so that she has difficulty getting in and out.
Cats, Dogs, And Other Animals:
Our dogs are not allowed in her yard without supervision, even though they are well-trained and I don't believe they would bother her. I'm not taking any chances. They would be too rough to play with her, even if they were small (which they are definitely not).
Our cats come and go as they please, and they don't bother her. She is as big as they are, bigger in some cases. And if they get too close, she bites them (I'm so proud that she's so assertive!). She's just a part of the landscape to them now.
But smaller chickens might need more protection, especially if your cats like to hunt, if they're new cats, or if they're not used to seeing her up by your house--or if you have hawks or other predators. You can create a small covered yard for her by pounding some re-bar into the ground with a hammer and covering the top and sides with chicken wire, securing it all with plastic zip-ties. My mom and I have done this for rabbits before, but I would recommend wire, and not any kind of plastic mesh, or you might have tragic results.
Companion Birds:
Disabled chickens are in no danger if they have a companion chicken who is smaller than they are. For a while, Antonia had a teeny little Banty roommate, An-tiny-a, until An-tiny-a died (she was not very active before, so something was wrong, and she died young; I would have given her supplements if I had known she was sickly). So please understand that tiny chickens can sometimes be sickly.
I don't see why other breeds of birds can't live with your disabled chicken, if they are smaller, and naturally mellow and non-aggressive. I once had a duck named Bessie who slept in the coop with our other chickens. She wasn't a very good duck, though, because she ran away with a wild male duck and never came back. So if you want the chicken to have smaller companions (which would be good for her, if you can manage it), please know that these companions might come and go.
In Part Four, the last in the series unless someone has questions or I think of something else that would be helpful, I will talk about how to keep your chicken warm in winter and cool in summer.
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