BYC Café

[igorsMistress]

Around here eggs go for between $2.50 and $5.00 per dozen. The $5/dozen place has roughly a half acre pen (Moveable electric fencing) and a moveable coop. Birds are situated right along the road so folks can see that they are free ranged - they sell out daily. Nothing wrong with helping to cover costs.

Thanks Sour! I'm thinking $5 is a bit much here, but I can see how that plan works! Smart folks there.

 

[igorsMistress]

Wow, eggs are cheap where you are. Free range eggs here (large) around 4 Euros for half a dozen.

It's difficult to compete with $1 per dozen factory eggs.

 

[Bamabexchicks]

It's difficult to compete with $1 per dozen factory eggs.

I sell mine to just a couple of people, evidently my neighbors only like them when they are free. I only ask $2 a dozen, and have trouble with people that want to "pay me later for eggs now " I'm thinking about getting the paperwork done to sell to the public, so I can also offset the cost of feed.

 

[Shadrach]

We usually see the sensational in the movies!

We didn't get shown movies in our history lessons.

 

[Shadrach]

It's difficult to compete with $1 per dozen factory eggs.

 

[ronott1]

I just came down from the attic and was successful at mounting the new whole house fan and getting the power and two way switch wired. It was very hot up there even though it was before noon.

The next step is cutting and patching in the sheet rock. I will have to go back into the attic and strap the wires to the joice boards. I will wait until the morning though

 

[Shadrach]

This may be of interest to those who have to deal with a sick chicken.
I first noticed Blue Spot not 100% at the end of last month. Unless you knew her well there wasn't much to indicate there was a problem. While she was eating and drinking she drank more than was normal and eat a bit less. Otherwise she looked fine. Comb bright, clean rear end, foraging and often the biggest sign, grooming. Never the less, I checked her over properly that night. Checked her crop which was a bit lumpy but full. I checked carefully for mites and lice; she was spotless. Checked her vent (finger in a good inch) clear and clean with a good healthy color.
For the next couple of days I kept an eye on her. She laid a ver very small egg, about the size of the tip of my thumb. That is not a good sign. She had been until then the most consistent and prolific layers here. She would lay most of the winter.
Her food consumption declined over the next few days but she would still forage and when I checked her crop at night the crop while not full had food in it. Her poop changed colour partly because she was eating more grass and forage but ime, there consistency indicated a problem.
Checking her crop in the morning, I found while it was considerably smaller than the night before, it hadn't fully emptied. I started crop massage and water flooding by tube at that point.
This seemed to have an effect and for the next couple of mornings her crop was very near to empty but when massaging her crop I could feel some small lumps about 1 mm in diameter that seemed to be attached to her crop lining.
I started tube feeding her wet feed mash at night at this point. In the morning I would flush her crop again. This worked well for a couple of days but she still lost weight.
On the advice of my vet I started her on a course of antibiotics. I had mostly resigned myself to the probability that Blue Spot was dying. It then became a question of how long it was humane to help to keep her alive. I tube fed her and groomed her every night and watched her during the day.
During the days, while not as active she still kept with her tribe, foraged and groomed a little. She was just obviously short of energy and spent more time resting in the cool soil above the rockery.
In the last three days her poop became worse. Bright green with yellow urates; not a good sign.
Throughout all this contrary to the beliefs of many, none of her tribe bullied her or drove her away.
In fact the opposite was true. They would tend to gather around her the slower she became and Punch her son and her eldest daughter didn't stray far from her side for the last three days.
During the last tow days I gave Blue Spot the maximum dose of Metacam for her weight each morning and night.
During the 17th and 18th of this month it was apparent that she was fading fast. On the night of the 18th she didn't roost on the perch with the others and stumbled and fell when she came out in the morning. Most of 18th she stayed mainly in a very small area with her eldest son Punch standing guard. I picke Her up a few times in the day to give her water and I could see that Punch was thinking about attacking me in defense of his mum. I believe if Blue Spot has complained he would have attacked.
On the 19th I decided that Blue Spots quality of life was not satisfactory and had to finally acknowledge she wasn't going to get any better.
On the night of the 19th I brought her into my house for a couple of hours to say goodbye. I gave her one more dose of Metacam and put her on her perch between her two sons until dawn.
I ended Blue Spots life early on the morning of the 20th.

 

[ronott1]

This may be of interest to those who have to deal with a sick chicken.
I first noticed Blue Spot not 100% at the end of last month. Unless you knew her well there wasn't much to indicate there was a problem. While she was eating and drinking she drank more than was normal and eat a bit less. Otherwise she looked fine. Comb bright, clean rear end, foraging and often the biggest sign, grooming. Never the less, I checked her over properly that night. Checked her crop which was a bit lumpy but full. I checked carefully for mites and lice; she was spotless. Checked her vent (finger in a good inch) clear and clean with a good healthy color.
For the next couple of days I kept an eye on her. She laid a ver very small egg, about the size of the tip of my thumb. That is not a good sign. She had been until then the most consistent and prolific layers here. She would lay most of the winter.
Her food consumption declined over the next few days but she would still forage and when I checked her crop at night the crop while not full had food in it. Her poop changed colour partly because she was eating more grass and forage but ime, there consistency indicated a problem.
Checking her crop in the morning, I found while it was considerably smaller than the night before, it hadn't fully emptied. I started crop massage and water flooding by tube at that point.
This seemed to have an effect and for the next couple of mornings her crop was very near to empty but when massaging her crop I could feel some small lumps about 1 mm in diameter that seemed to be attached to her crop lining.
I started tube feeding her wet feed mash at night at this point. In the morning I would flush her crop again. This worked well for a couple of days but she still lost weight.
On the advice of my vet I started her on a course of antibiotics. I had mostly resigned myself to the probability that Blue Spot was dying. It then became a question of how long it was humane to help to keep her alive. I tube fed her and groomed her every night and watched her during the day.
During the days, while not as active she still kept with her tribe, foraged and groomed a little. She was just obviously short of energy and spent more time resting in the cool soil above the rockery.
In the last three days her poop became worse. Bright green with yellow urates; not a good sign.
Throughout all this contrary to the beliefs of many, none of her tribe bullied her or drove her away.
In fact the opposite was true. They would tend to gather around her the slower she became and Punch her son and her eldest daughter didn't stray far from her side for the last three days.
During the last tow days I gave Blue Spot the maximum dose of Metacam for her weight each morning and night.
During the 17th and 18th of this month it was apparent that she was fading fast. On the night of the 18th she didn't roost on the perch with the others and stumbled and fell when she came out in the morning. Most of 18th she stayed mainly in a very small area with her eldest son Punch standing guard. I picke Her up a few times in the day to give her water and I could see that Punch was thinking about attacking me in defense of his mum. I believe if Blue Spot has complained he would have attacked.
On the 19th I decided that Blue Spots quality of life was not satisfactory and had to finally acknowledge she wasn't going to get any better.
On the night of the 19th I brought her into my house for a couple of hours to say goodbye. I gave her one more dose of Metacam and put her on her perch between her two sons until dawn.
I ended Blue Spots life early on the morning of the 20th.



View attachment 1745458 View attachment 1745459 View attachment 1745460 View attachment 1745461 View attachment 1745462

View attachment 1745478

You did very well for her!

 

[Bamabexchicks]

This may be of interest to those who have to deal with a sick chicken.
I first noticed Blue Spot not 100% at the end of last month. Unless you knew her well there wasn't much to indicate there was a problem. While she was eating and drinking she drank more than was normal and eat a bit less. Otherwise she looked fine. Comb bright, clean rear end, foraging and often the biggest sign, grooming. Never the less, I checked her over properly that night. Checked her crop which was a bit lumpy but full. I checked carefully for mites and lice; she was spotless. Checked her vent (finger in a good inch) clear and clean with a good healthy color.
For the next couple of days I kept an eye on her. She laid a ver very small egg, about the size of the tip of my thumb. That is not a good sign. She had been until then the most consistent and prolific layers here. She would lay most of the winter.
Her food consumption declined over the next few days but she would still forage and when I checked her crop at night the crop while not full had food in it. Her poop changed colour partly because she was eating more grass and forage but ime, there consistency indicated a problem.
Checking her crop in the morning, I found while it was considerably smaller than the night before, it hadn't fully emptied. I started crop massage and water flooding by tube at that point.
This seemed to have an effect and for the next couple of mornings her crop was very near to empty but when massaging her crop I could feel some small lumps about 1 mm in diameter that seemed to be attached to her crop lining.
I started tube feeding her wet feed mash at night at this point. In the morning I would flush her crop again. This worked well for a couple of days but she still lost weight.
On the advice of my vet I started her on a course of antibiotics. I had mostly resigned myself to the probability that Blue Spot was dying. It then became a question of how long it was humane to help to keep her alive. I tube fed her and groomed her every night and watched her during the day.
During the days, while not as active she still kept with her tribe, foraged and groomed a little. She was just obviously short of energy and spent more time resting in the cool soil above the rockery.
In the last three days her poop became worse. Bright green with yellow urates; not a good sign.
Throughout all this contrary to the beliefs of many, none of her tribe bullied her or drove her away.
In fact the opposite was true. They would tend to gather around her the slower she became and Punch her son and her eldest daughter didn't stray far from her side for the last three days.
During the last tow days I gave Blue Spot the maximum dose of Metacam for her weight each morning and night.
During the 17th and 18th of this month it was apparent that she was fading fast. On the night of the 18th she didn't roost on the perch with the others and stumbled and fell when she came out in the morning. Most of 18th she stayed mainly in a very small area with her eldest son Punch standing guard. I picke Her up a few times in the day to give her water and I could see that Punch was thinking about attacking me in defense of his mum. I believe if Blue Spot has complained he would have attacked.
On the 19th I decided that Blue Spots quality of life was not satisfactory and had to finally acknowledge she wasn't going to get any better.
On the night of the 19th I brought her into my house for a couple of hours to say goodbye. I gave her one more dose of Metacam and put her on her perch between her two sons until dawn.
I ended Blue Spots life early on the morning of the 20th.



View attachment 1745458 View attachment 1745459 View attachment 1745460 View attachment 1745461 View attachment 1745462

View attachment 1745478

Thanks for posting the timeline of your nursing care. It is the bittersweet feeling of knowing you are doing all you can, but the outcome is completely out of your hands that wears you down. I would never consider going back into veterinary work again because it's hard enough caring for my own animals much less dealing with the human influence.

 

[igorsMistress]

@Shadrach Blue Spot was so fortunate to be in your care. I'm sure she appreciated your kindness in her last days

Thank you for sharing with us that we might learn from your experience.