Could she have impacted crop?

[LynneP]

It's worth a try. Either she will eat it or she won't!

She might like yogurt too and you can get the feed well softened with it. She may be a little sore for a few days and will prefer slushy food...

 

[Wynette]

She seemed to like the yogurt at first, but now just picks out the tomatoes. But, if I sprinkle the baby bird formula on top of the tomatoes, she may eat it. Even when the pellets are softened, she just won't eat them. What a fussy girl. I'll keep trying! Haven't tried cucumbers in a couple days...maybe time to try those again. Thanks!

 

[Lunachick]

Hey Wynette, I don't know if this would work for you, but mine LOVE string cheese, it's how I get them back in their run when I need to. Maybe if you chop up some string cheese into little bits and mix that in her regular food, she might be enticed!

Good luck with your hen!

She sounds like a trooper!

 

[Wynette]

Thanks, Luna! I THINK we may have had a breakthrough yesterday! Before leaving for work yesterday, I gave her 4cc of olive oil, but her crop was almost 100% empty. I did massage a bit. THen, I gave her pelleted layer feed moistened with bits of tomato. Ther was maybe 1/2 cup total of feed in her cup. What she'd been doing until yesterday was just picking the tomatos out.

Well, when I got home from work yesterday, she'd eaten the moistened layer pellets! ALL of them! Well, most of it. Not the wet stuff stuck in the corners. I looked through the shavings and didn't find any tomatoes OR pelleted feed, so I think she actually ATE it! I'm THRILLED! I only gave her 3 drop of poly-vi-sol yesterday, and will do 3 again today, then stop that. I also gave her ONLY DRY PELLETS today, because this a.m., her crop was completely empty! I can't tell you how excited and pleased I am!

CROSS FINGERS

that she eats the pellets today! If she does, I'll probably give her another day or so in confinement, just to make sure she's eating well, then I'll put her back into general population.

(Edited because I realized that "crop" is spelled this way instead of "corp"!!)

 

[LynneP]

Well done, Wynette!

 

[Wynette]

Thanks, LynneP! I feel like she's not out of the woods yet...but if I get home tonight & her pellets are gone, I may have to attempt a cartwheel!

 

[Lunachick]

Great news! Yay! Make sure she's nice and strong before she has to be reintroduced into the flock. How many chooks do you have anyway? I never asked....?! I'm so glad for you! and her...what kind of hen? I'm nosy tonight...

LynneP, excellent advice on the impacted crop issue...we have some truly nice people here!

 

[Wynette]

Hey, Luna! Yep, she'll stay in confinement until she gains a bit more weight. I forgot to weigh her this a.m. - wanted to do so before I gave her food, but forgot. Darnit! I'll put the scale on top of her cage tonight so I remember to do it 1st thing tomorrow.

She's a little EE...one of the very first that I bred of my own. Her mom laid the prettiest green egg, and I remember being so excited about what color she'd lay, and she ended up laying a bright WHITE egg! You just never know what you'll get with EEs! She's nothing fancy...just brownish with the willow green legs. But, she's a feisty little one, and I've always admired that about her!

I don't have huge number of chooks...I think maye 35-40 right now? I work full time, so I try to keep my numbers down. I'm a firm believer in being fully responsible for critters you take on in your life, and any more than what I have, I just wouldn't have the time for them that they deserve. Now when I retire in 10 years....LOOK OUT!

 

[Lunachick]

Wow, 35-40? I only have six ! But I don't have a large property. I agree about the responsibility with your critters. Absolutely. Anymore than six for me would be too much at this point. And I can tell who's who too.

How is your hen today?

 

[Wynette]

Well, yesterday I gave her layer pellets ONLY. No tomatoes or cucumbers or yogurt. Just sort of a test. She didn't eat nearly as much as she should have, maybe 1/16 -1/8 of a cup. So this a.m., I mixed about 1/2 cup pellets with about 1/4 cup tomatoes and a bit of yogurt, and sprinkled some baby bird handfeeding formula into it, mixing it well. I also put some steam rolled oats in, as she seems to really like those - but just a tiny bit. I'm really hoping to see that she ate a good amount by the time I get home!

Oh, I have over 10 acres, but it's really not set up that well. I only have one barn, and it's not that large. We built onto the exterior of the barn for my 3 chicken pens, and there really isn't anywhere else I can build onto anyway, so I have to stop with the number I have now. I guess it's working okay, I just need to sell off a few hens here and there as I hatch more. That's really difficult for me to do, as I do get attached to them. But, if I'm going to hatch and continue to have young stock, I have to do it.