...just received three-figure dollars worth of surgery yesterday. Red, the Ameraucana hen, is a pet. She's a bit addled - she thinks the geese are big roosters - but she's scrappy, and lets us pick her up and snuggle her. So when I picked her up the other day and noticed a foul smell and the golf ball sized lump of her crop, I knew something wasn't right. Research narrowed her symptoms to a
sour and impacted crop. Brought her inside the house and tried some of the
suggested home remedies, but the crop wasn't getting any better (nor the smell... yeesh). Called the vet the next day, who took Red in immediately.
Lavaging her crop wasn't budging the contents, and so they asked - and received - permission to open her up.
Red had stuck in her crop: her regular feed, grasses, larvae, seeds, grains, bugs, other greens. She's definitely got a varied and healthy diet! What has caused the lack of crop
motility is now the question of the day. There were a few flagellets found in samples taken from her crop, but it's hard to say for certain what's going on. In the meantime, she's our housemate for the week. She needs some time to recover from the surgery, grow in some feathers on her chest where she was shaved, and receive regular medication. On the list: antibiotics, de-wormer, and other anti-parasitic drugs. Soft cat food with probiotic powder to help her gut achieve balance again. Electrolytes in her water to help rebalance any possible dehydration issues. And hopefully getting some rest, which means holding back much fussing on my part. Get better soon, lil' chicken gurl!
...just received three-figure dollars worth of surgery yesterday. Red, the Ameraucana hen, is a pet. She's a bit addled - she thinks the geese are big roosters - but she's scrappy, and lets us pick her up and snuggle her. So when I picked her up the other day and noticed a foul smell and the golf ball sized lump of her crop, I knew something wasn't right. Research narrowed her symptoms to a sour and impacted crop. Brought her inside the house and tried some of the suggested home remedies, but the crop wasn't getting any better (nor the smell... yeesh). Called the vet the next day, who took Red in immediately. Lavaging her crop wasn't budging the contents, and so they asked - and received - permission to open her up. 
Red had stuck in her crop: her regular feed, grasses, larvae, seeds, grains, bugs, other greens. She's definitely got a varied and healthy diet! What has caused the lack of crop motility is now the question of the day. There were a few flagellets found in samples taken from her crop, but it's hard to say for certain what's going on. In the meantime, she's our housemate for the week. She needs some time to recover from the surgery, grow in some feathers on her chest where she was shaved, and receive regular medication. On the list: antibiotics, de-wormer, and other anti-parasitic drugs. Soft cat food with probiotic powder to help her gut achieve balance again. Electrolytes in her water to help rebalance any possible dehydration issues. And hopefully getting some rest, which means holding back much fussing on my part. Get better soon, lil' chicken gurl!
worth every penny right? Sara our broken leg hen came home from the vet became broody, raised 3 chicks to about 1 month old before she disappeared one day in the mouth of a predator. I hope who ever ate her got the SS pin from her leg stuck in the roof of its mouth!
ReplyDeleteI saw infamous "Squirrel" episode on Seinfeld last night -- and immediately thought of you and Phil. ;)
ReplyDeleteSheesh! How does anyone ever make a profit off of raising geese and chickens?
ReplyDelete@The Eggman: poor chicken! Her luck went from bad to worse, eh?
ReplyDelete@Nancy: you know, I've never seen that episode, will look it up...
@HCH: profit? What's that? *lol* Seriously tho, if we treated our livestock like, well, livestock, we would have just put her down. But we're a bit addled here as well :-).
My goodness! Well... hopefully all the probiotics for backup regimen will get her back to feeling like a prissy " Suthun Baylle " very soon! You adding the apple cider vinegar to her water, as well?
ReplyDelete