Clinicians at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University said that Cicely, a five month old chicken, is in stable condition.

Cicely had surgery on the morning of Wednesday, 5 August, to partially amputate a bone which was causing her right leg to bend in the wrong direction.

The Cummings School’s surgical team, led by Clinical Assistant Professor Emi Knafo, who has a special interest in avian orthopedics, reports that the young chicken is doing well but has a long way to go.

During the surgery, while Cicely was under general anaesthesia, the Cummings team made a copy of her good foot via CT scan.

That scan will enable personnel at Tufts’ School of Engineering to create a 3D-printed, plastic prosthetic that will be put on later this month.

Veterinarians and engineers will collaborate to ensure that the final design is as comfortable and mechanically useful as possible, using materials with different strength and flexibility combinations.

Specialists in Cummings School's Zoological Companion Animal Service caution that today’s surgery is only part of a complex multi-step process in Cicely's treatment.