Please, somewhere there has to be directions for a crop bra with proper pictures. I need to see actual shapes and measurements.
And, equally desperately, I need crop surgery directions for dummies. The why follows.
Stupid me made the mistake of observing my neighbor's 11 month old Speckled Sussex walking funny. She was lifting her foot up to push up her crop, and when picking her up she was uncharacteristically squirmy - it seemed like anything touching near her crop would cause her discomfort.
So I read, and optimistically went over the next day and asked for bread and olive oil to see if bread soaked olive oil would help. To get an idea of the type of help I can hope for from the owner, she handed me a slice of moldy bread. And the next day the owner happily reported that that the hen happily ate up water celery that morning. No, it was not a case of there being an overnight miracle cure.
So I took the hen to my house, isolated her, and tried the usual remedies. Syringes of water. Syringes of mineral oil. Oil soaked white bread without crust. Yogurt - lots of yogurt. Scrambled eggs. Vomiting. Massaging. I even did a round of Monostat 3, which had me highly optimistic, but ne real improvement. She does poop, and it's usually dry and fibrous - I can pick out the grass, . I've been keeping her outside in the day in a toddler play pen, usually on the flagstones - not much grass there. She still has a bulging crop every morning and her comb color is almost as bad as the same neighbor's 4 year old hen that's molting and hobbling with a case of bumblefoot. (Yeah, I've also tried treating that.) She struggles to try and lift her crop - I can see her contracting the muscles.
I've tried to make a crop bra, but apparently it's more complex than a chicken saddle. I like the idea of a sock one - my old compression socks sound like great candidates, but apparently having a size 11 woman's foot doesn't translate into calves large enough... Or I don't know how to cut and get it onto a bird... I've tried a rectangle with straps - figured the principle should be like the baby carriers I made years ago. But apparently there's a huge difference between babywearing and a crop carrier. It'd be comical how tangled up the girl got, were it not so dangerous...
And so today, I finally psyched myself to try and do crop surgery. It's been weeks. She's not getting better. I watched several videos. Bought sutures. Dug out some unused crazy glue. Had my 11 year old assistant watch some crop surgery videos. Etcetera. Attempted surgery. Figured the bald spot where the hen's scratched herself repeatedly was the correct place. Seems I was wrong? Didn't look like the videos, so stopped to minimize damage. Assistant recommended crazy glue. Didn't hold - bad glue? Crudely put 3 stitches in... Expect hen to tear those out.
So, in case hen survives, and there's no miracle, I need some help. A crop bra would protect the sore spot, and clearly I have no clue where to start surgery.
Problem 1: Where do you make that incision? How do you locate this?
Problem 2: How should it feel when you're cutting? How difficult should it be to cut through?
Problem 3: How difficult should it be to get a needle through? Unlike a rug, apparently the hen can experience pain.
And, equally desperately, I need crop surgery directions for dummies. The why follows.
Stupid me made the mistake of observing my neighbor's 11 month old Speckled Sussex walking funny. She was lifting her foot up to push up her crop, and when picking her up she was uncharacteristically squirmy - it seemed like anything touching near her crop would cause her discomfort.
So I read, and optimistically went over the next day and asked for bread and olive oil to see if bread soaked olive oil would help. To get an idea of the type of help I can hope for from the owner, she handed me a slice of moldy bread. And the next day the owner happily reported that that the hen happily ate up water celery that morning. No, it was not a case of there being an overnight miracle cure.
So I took the hen to my house, isolated her, and tried the usual remedies. Syringes of water. Syringes of mineral oil. Oil soaked white bread without crust. Yogurt - lots of yogurt. Scrambled eggs. Vomiting. Massaging. I even did a round of Monostat 3, which had me highly optimistic, but ne real improvement. She does poop, and it's usually dry and fibrous - I can pick out the grass, . I've been keeping her outside in the day in a toddler play pen, usually on the flagstones - not much grass there. She still has a bulging crop every morning and her comb color is almost as bad as the same neighbor's 4 year old hen that's molting and hobbling with a case of bumblefoot. (Yeah, I've also tried treating that.) She struggles to try and lift her crop - I can see her contracting the muscles.
I've tried to make a crop bra, but apparently it's more complex than a chicken saddle. I like the idea of a sock one - my old compression socks sound like great candidates, but apparently having a size 11 woman's foot doesn't translate into calves large enough... Or I don't know how to cut and get it onto a bird... I've tried a rectangle with straps - figured the principle should be like the baby carriers I made years ago. But apparently there's a huge difference between babywearing and a crop carrier. It'd be comical how tangled up the girl got, were it not so dangerous...
And so today, I finally psyched myself to try and do crop surgery. It's been weeks. She's not getting better. I watched several videos. Bought sutures. Dug out some unused crazy glue. Had my 11 year old assistant watch some crop surgery videos. Etcetera. Attempted surgery. Figured the bald spot where the hen's scratched herself repeatedly was the correct place. Seems I was wrong? Didn't look like the videos, so stopped to minimize damage. Assistant recommended crazy glue. Didn't hold - bad glue? Crudely put 3 stitches in... Expect hen to tear those out.
So, in case hen survives, and there's no miracle, I need some help. A crop bra would protect the sore spot, and clearly I have no clue where to start surgery.
Problem 1: Where do you make that incision? How do you locate this?
Problem 2: How should it feel when you're cutting? How difficult should it be to cut through?
Problem 3: How difficult should it be to get a needle through? Unlike a rug, apparently the hen can experience pain.
