Collar the BR hen is on the mend but still needs assistance eating. It has been a labor-intensive process involving restraining her and practically force-feeding her by hand. Left to her own devices, she was unable to grasp anything at all. Whatever happened left her with a lower beak that is just slightly shorter than the top, just enough to prevent her from being able to pick up edibles before her sisters barged in like hogs. The wet mash we made up for her presented challenges of its own. She just was not able to eat without help. I had her inside this morning trying to get her to eat something--anything! I spied some left-over carbonara and thought, why not? Noodles look like worms, maybe if I dangle them in just the right way, she'd be able to get them down, and boy did she! She practically attacked them! It got me thinking of a way to get the nutritious wet mash into a noodle, and that was the lightbulb moment. I added some flour and a raw egg to the mash with a little water, put it into a pastry bag with a #6 tip and piped the mixture into a pot of hot water. It worked--they held their shape and came out looking like pale earthworms. She eats these on her own, although I have to supervise and run interference with the others. Funny thing, she eats better in the company of her flock. When I separate her, she loses interest quickly. DH says she likes the competition! At any rate, success!
