Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[CallMeQuackers]

Good morning all. Some cute pics of the latest arrivals in the Australian Call side of the pen. One has some sort of eye probs that we are treating, but he looks to be unable to see at the moment. One was slow coming out and got booted from the nest, so we have him under a heat lamp. Sorry for all the sideways ness. I clearly need some improvements in my IT skills.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Lovely birds, @Ashburnham The tube I got from the hospital looks like this: I'm worried it may be too thick for his esophagus.

It doesn't look to be a very thick gauge , it's more important that it be pliable so as not to scratch the esophagus on the way down. Kathy is the foremost expert on crop feeding and is very helpful. I would PM her , just to put your mind at ease. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

 

[K Spot]

I've just PM'ed her. Failing that, I might see what the aquarium shop has.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I've just PM'ed her.  Failing that, I might see what the aquarium shop has. 

From what I've read you need an 8-12 gauge French feeding tube. When I was being tubed directly into the abdomen , the tube used was like those in the pics. Of a pink brown rubbery texture. Do you have any friends that work in a hospital that may be able to acquire such an item ? Have you tried the chemist ? Keep us updated with what you do as I'm sure that someone else may ultimately find it helpful.

Hopefully @casportpony will get back to you.

 

[Sidhe13]

I have been playing with the idea of making up my own poultry feed. After some investigation into different ingredients and their nutritional value I have come up with a recipe with 17.8% protein. Free feed grits and calcium will be provided and I will also look at adding some high-grade mineral salts to the mix. I am working on a free range garden area in the new enclosure and run we are building in the next couple months.

Any comments or input are more than welcome! The kg/g is based on a standard 20kg bag.

Alfalfa Pellets: 10% 2kg
Brewer's Yeast: 1.5% 300g
Corn: 30% 6kg
Flax Seeds: 4% 800g
Kelp Meal: 0.5% 100g
Lentils: 6% 1.2kg
Mealworms: 10% 2kg
Oats: 8% 1.6kg
Wheat: 30% 6kg

The crude fat is sitting at 7% which I understand is rather high. Most of that number comes from the mealworms and the flaxseeds. The flaxseeds provide Omega-3 oils but I am questioning whether they are necessary. They are beginning to seem like more trouble than they are worth.
If I remove the flaxseed and replace the extra 4% with lentils, I end up with 5.5% fat and 17.7% protein.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I've just PM'ed her.  Failing that, I might see what the aquarium shop has. 

This might help.

https://www.medshop.com.au/search/Feeding-tube/0/10/1

 

[K Spot]

This might help.

https://www.medshop.com.au/search/Feeding-tube/0/10/1

Legend! Thanks heaps Fancy.

I bit hard to decipher the gauges from that website. Do you think the "CH" would refer to the thickness?

 

[K Spot]

From what I've read you need an 8-12 gauge French feeding tube. When I was being tubed directly into the abdomen , the tube used was like those in the pics. Of a pink brown rubbery texture. Do you have any friends that work in a hospital that may be able to acquire such an item ? Have you tried the chemist ? Keep us updated with what you do as I'm sure that someone else may ultimately find it helpful.



Hopefully @casportpony will get back to you.

I've tried asking vets and multiple chemists for that exact tubing (called urinary catheters) with no luck unfortunately

Apparently they don't keep any on hand as it's a specialised piece of equipment.
My mother in law is a nurse, but she lives about 2 hours away.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Legend!  Thanks heaps Fancy.  

I bit hard to decipher the gauges from that website.  Do you think the "CH" would refer to the thickness? 

Sad to say but I've had the duodenum and the nasogastric tube , something I'd rather forget. The nasal tube is larger, where's Sam, she would know. I would see if your mum could source some different sizes and pop them in express post too.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have been playing with the idea of making up my own poultry feed. After some investigation into different ingredients and their nutritional value I have come up with a recipe with 17.8% protein. Free feed grits and calcium will be provided and I will also look at adding some high-grade mineral salts to the mix. I am working on a free range garden area in the new enclosure and run we are building in the next couple months.

Any comments or input are more than welcome! The kg/g is based on a standard 20kg bag.

Alfalfa Pellets: 10%       2kg
Brewer's Yeast: 1.5%    300g
Corn: 30%                       6kg
Flax Seeds: 4%              800g
Kelp Meal: 0.5%            100g
Lentils: 6%                      1.2kg
Mealworms: 10%           2kg
Oats: 8%                          1.6kg
Wheat: 30%                     6kg

The crude fat is sitting at 7% which I understand is rather high. Most of that number comes from the mealworms and the flaxseeds. The flaxseeds provide Omega-3 oils but I am questioning whether they are necessary. They are beginning to seem like more trouble than they are worth.
If I remove the flaxseed and replace the extra 4% with lentils, I end up with 5.5% fat and 17.7% protein.

The flaxseed will provide the linoleic acid and methionine , amino acids essential for healthy birds. Lentils and flaxseed also provide phosphorus, and the phosphorus to calcium ratio is important for eggshell quality. I personally would leave the meal worms out and I'm not sure that I would be comfortable feeding such a high rate of wheat and corn.