Eggbound hen - am I crazy to pay a vet $150?

[BWchicken]

ace, good to hear from you! So Avril's still doing well? She is just amazing, chickens can be a lot tougher than most people think! It's good for you to know about the Lupron if you ever need to use it, and I would agree not to do it now. Avril should get a natural break from laying soon as the days are getting shorter. What your vet said about the Lupron makes sense. As long as she's doing well, why risk side effects from a new medicine until it's necessary. Wow, $60 a shot, the things we will do for our birds! But they are so worth it. I've had a few already start molting too. A hard molt that I wasn't expecting since they're only a year old. Feathers everywhere! I do enjoy the updates on Avril, keep em coming! Maybe post some new pics of her too!

Thanks for asking and just let me say I am so sick of bumblefoot!!! The brahmas are still in the house can you believe it? It's been 6 weeks and they're doing well (it never was that bad), but they STILL have thin scabbing on their foot pads. I pulled the original scabs off, got no plugs, tried to dig around a bit, found very little. I didn't do any actual cutting though, putting towels over their heads DIDN"T work at all, and no way I'm cutting on a kicking struggling bird. I've tried Tricide Neo, neosporin, epsom salt, prep H and just started trying silvadede cream. So I'm going to have to manually remove those thin scabs, and really see what's going on. There's no swelling at all, just very thin scabs. I've decided if I can just get those scabs replaced with skin, I'm putting them back outside. Having them inside this long is unnatural for them (and me). Then I'll keep a close eye on their feet and if it comes back, I'll deal with it more aggressively. They are good house chickens, so so sweet, but they need to "be chickens" outside again. I'm fairly sure the flock won't remember them and vice versa, so I'm pretty worried about re-introduction. But I have to get them healed up first!

Here's a pic of them with their bandaged feet taking their daily romp out of their cages.
(they're kept in a spare room normally used for storage)

Grace on the left, Honey on the right

 

[joebryant]

I think anyone who is strapped for money needed to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for themselves and their children would be fool-hardy to spend any amount on a chicken.
I also think that anyone who has a conscience and can afford it should spend whatever it takes, within reason, to help save any pet... chicken, cat, or dog.
I know, however, that if I had a LOT of chickens for the sole purpose of egg production, any chicken with a time-consuming problem would be used for cooking.

 

[jjthink]

BW, so sorry for all your and your feathered friends troubles and sending good wishes. Glad Baby is doing well

ace, so glad Avril is doing pretty well and hope for a good long life for her

cl08, wow....I lost hen Betty to internal laying like that and should have had a hysterectomy done on her way sooner - she had been misdiagnosed for awhile and then was too weak when it all became very clear and she died 2 hours after surgery. I had so hoped to save her not just because she had always had such a love of life before becoming so sadly ill but because her dear buddy BJ roo cared for her so, never leaving her side and she loved him so. Just wished I had done the surgery sooner in her case. BJ was inconsolable without her.

to all of you JJ

 

[prncs13]

My Spencer had problems with his feet and his vet gave us this blue liquid which is an anti-fungal. You mix it with warm water and soak his feet and massage them and it is easier to pick off the scabs and aids in healing. We did it twice a day for about 7 days. He also had an antibiotic. At the end it was just his middle toe that was absolutely black and like leather so we took him to the vet and she cut off the last bit and he had a shiny clean toe underneath. This was at least 6 months ago and his feet still look clean. The stuff reminds me of the liquid they put combs in at the barber shop, not sure if it is the same stuff though. You can call Greylock Animal Hospital in North Adams, MA and ask the girls what Dr. Gorbutt prescribed for Spencer Pekrol's feet. I'm sure it is in his records. I would worry about the reintroduction as well. Even a day away from each other is not good, but sometimes necessary.

Michelle

 

[chickenlady08]

Quote:
JJ - it is sad to lose our friends. I lost my sweet Trooper about 2 weeks ago. She had started laying internally again and unfortunately I didn't start the antibiotic and it was to late when I realized she was internally laying again. My poor girl. I was going to have them do the hysterectomy this time but she didn't get the chance to get it done before she died.

RIP my sweet Trooper.

 

[prncs13]

I just had the same thing with Titleist. We didn't know this was going on until the autopsy. It breaks my heart that she was suffering so. I was doing everything I could to make her feel better. And then after she died my precious Butterfly had to be put to sleep because she had developed cancer. She had so much fluid in and around her lungs the poor thing could barely breathe. I still can't cope with their deaths.

Michelle

 

[ace6175]

So good to hear that Baby is doing better, BW! Grace and Honey are such beauties. You are really taking great care of them. Hopefully, once you have them outside again, they will be fully healed.
cl08, so sorry to hear about Trooper! I've only had chickens for about 1 1/2 years, but if something were to happen to Avril or Salty, I would be heartbroken.
Michelle, it's so hard to know what's wrong with a sick animal, so sorry for your loss.
Thanks for your well wishes to Avril, she is still doing well (and extremely jealous of Salty, one of my new SLW who is very friendly to me).
Hugs to all, this is the best chicken site on the internet.

 

[kaddidle]

I once ran into someone giving away free mutt puppies in the parking lot of my office and wound up taking one home. A few months later, I had spent over $3,000 in vet bills--shots, spaying, and a trip to the emergency vet after she got into some spoiled spaghetti sauce. This was when I was in college, paying my own way, and living off of Ramen noodles and canned peas.

Twelve years later, I joke about my "million dollar free puppy." She has allergies that require special food and medications, has had a $3,000 emergency surgery after getting mauled by another dog, has had smaller surgeries and medical treatments for various accidental injuries, and has taken visits to a dog ophthalmology specialist that people travel from across the country to see when she developed a tumor on her eye. She's developing cataracts now and will probably require eventual surgery to fix those, and we will do that too.

I don't regret a single penny that I've spent on her. She's my favorite dog in the world and I enjoy her company every day.

I've also taken ferrets, tortoises, and rabbits to the vet, and considered a $4,000 orthopedic knee surgery for another one of my dogs.

I wouldn't ever call anyone crazy for paying for proper vet care for a companion animal.

Glad your chickie is doing well!

 

[BWchicken]

Quote:
My sentiments exactly, I love this place. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!

 

[ace6175]

Just an update - Avril has laid 2 normal eggs this week! I can't believe it. She is doing so well.