In what could be a first, a rooster who lost his lower legs to frostbite will soon receive prosthetic replacements. "We're calling it a drumstick transplant," said Dr. Timothy England, who runs the Crossroads Animal Hospital just outside of Jackson, Michigan.
The veterinarian took the fowl "under his wing" when a local woman rescued the near-frozen animal from her snowy yard shortly before Christmas. No one knows where he came from. Unlike birds that are used to being outdoors during the Winter, the year-old rooster did not know where to seek shelter. He was thin and sickly, with severely frostbitten feet, leading Dr. England to consider putting him to death humanely.
But the rooster, originally named Colonel Sanders, showed a plucky spirit and Dr. England and his staff grew fond of the bird, whose name was soon changed to Mr. Chicken. Dr. England allowed the frostbite to run its course, while treating the legs with antibiotics and bandages. The result was that Mr. Chicken stood two to three inches shorter than normal roosters, having lost his legs, in human terms, between the ankle and the knee.
Mr. Chicken moves around fairly well on his healing stumps, encased in special booties. But, Dr. England wants him to be able to engage in normal rooster activities such as scratching at the ground and reproducing. So a local physical therapist measured Mr. Chicken for replacement feet. Made of a malleable, plastic material, the new appendages will look like tiny horseshoes and be removable. Mr. Chicken should have them by the end of February.
"We're looking for something that's functional, not cosmetic," said Dr. England, who is paying for the $200 prostheses himself. He expects to attach the permanent chicken feet, "so in the near future, Mr. Chicken can get outside and run around." Since moving into the vet's office, Mr. Chicken has grown a comb and learned to crow. He's even been used as a blood donor for surgery on a parrot.
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