Why a couple are spending a fortune to cure Eve the one-legged chicken of skin cancer

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When Eve the chicken was struck by cancer in her left leg, her worried owners Elaine and Chris Denney decided to have the limb amputated.

The operation left the much-loved pet able to half fly, half hop around the couple's country smallholding.

But then Eve developed the disease in her remaining leg and the Denneys faced the heartbreaking prospect of having to put her down.

Instead, they decided to save her life - by paying for surgery to remove the growth, followed by a course of radiotherapy.

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Vet Sue Murphy examines sick Eve as owners Elaine (left) and Chris Denny look on

The three-year-old Sussex buff cross will be the first chicken in the country to undergo the treatment. It could cost the couple, who are self-employed accountants, £1,000 based on vets bills and the £400 cost of radiotherapy.

Mrs Denney, 43, who works with her husband at their smallholding in Hatfield Norton, Worcestershire, said: "Eve is a pet to us. It doesn't matter if she has four legs, two, or, in this case, one.

"She jumps around the garden and responds to her name just like a cat or dog. We would do this for any of our 15 chickens but we do have a real soft spot for Eve."

Disease: Eve's one remaining leg is being attacked by cancer

The couple first noticed something was wrong with the hen 18 months ago when she started limping. They believed she had a serious case of scaly leg, a condition in which a mite burrows under the scales in the bird's leg, and arranged for her left leg to be removed. But they now think she must have had cancer after a form of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in her remaining leg.

Mrs Denney said: "When some of our chickens have become ill, they often just keel over and die. But Eve has refused to give up despite all her problems.

"She used to drag her bad leg behind her. Then, when it was amputated, she would gamely hop around with the other hens.

"She has got a real zest for life. If she sees us coming with food she'll half hop and half fly. She can get quite a bit of speed up.

"But she couldn't cope without any legs. It would be cruel to keep her then.

"If we don't do anything, she'd have maybe two or three months to live and one of our options was to put her to sleep. But after a lot of soul-searching we decided to do what we could for her.

"She has so much personality. We've been looking after her in our office recently and she's always peering over at me or at clients.

"Anyone with a dog or a cat would probably take the same decision we have with our chicken."

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One-legged wonder: 'Anyone with a dog or cat would do the same,' says Elaine Denny

Mrs Denney said animal oncologists laughed when they said the patient would be a chicken.

But she has now arranged for the tumour to be removed by a vet in Gloucester before the radiotherapy is carried out by the Animal Health Trust in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, which is best known for treating race horses.

The couple made the 320-mile round-trip to the trust for a consultation on Monday and will have to return for Eve's groundbreaking treatment.

Dr Sue Murphy, head of oncology for the Animal Health Trust, said: "Although our clinics generally treat dogs, cats and horses, we are always willing to accept referrals of other species that can benefit from our specialist expertise and facilities.

"We believe this will be the first treatment a chicken has ever received for squamous cell carcinoma, so it will be pioneering."

 

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