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

[Buugette]

Quote:
That's not how pets are treated and this bird is a pet to the poster. I respect that your chickens are barnyard animals, and I know you take good care of them. Of course livestock and pets are treated differently and I respect that difference. To some, chickens are livestock. But to others, they are loved pets. We can't just learn to suddenly treat our birds like livestock and move on, any more than you can suddenly learn to fall in love with your chickens as pets. Whether someone has pet chickens or livestock chickens, there can be mutual understanding for each other. I don't think there are any "lessons" that need to be learned. One way isn't any better than the other, just different.

Well said... we all look at things different. I only have 4 at the moment... and they are so much a part of my life. I love to go home after work, sit on the patio and let the girls out of their pen... just watching them melts my stress of the day away. They know their names, they have personalities, they are part of the family. I will do what ever is in my means to keep them healthy and happy. I understand and respect the flip side as well... we all do what we can, how we can and when we can. No rights... no wrongs... just a nice shade of gray.

D

 

[rachelbinnc]

I think you are the only one who can answer this question. Just trust your decision once you make it and know it is right because it is yours to make.

 

[Qi Chicken]

The thing is that she has been eggbound for over 3 weeks now. By the time you're sure (you can never be SURE) it may be too late.

From what I can gather, you can feel an egg in her that is not coming out. She consistently lays extremely soft shelled eggs. If they don't break they appear to be dented as though they have bypassed another egg. Another poster mentioned how as time went by the egg became cemented in her hen. It seems like you are waiting for her to become lethargic and very ill. By this time she will not be likely to survive. If you are going to do something about this then take her to the vet while he can still do something to help her.

 

[wando]

:cdWill your vet take payments? Youve probably have done it by now and good for you.

 

[BWchicken]

Hi ace, I was just wondering how Avril is doing, can you give us an update?

 

[ace6175]

Hi BW,
I talked with the vet the other day. He actually discouraged me from bringing her in. Guess he'd never heard of a chicken passing an egg around a stuck egg. He thinks as long as she seems well, then it's risky to sedate her and do surgery.
She is continuing to lay eggs with thin shells, that break right away (before I get there, anyway). In every other way, she seems normal. She is eating and running around, jumps on my shoulder for treats. I still feel the egg, but sometimes it's closer to her vent than other times. The vet said it's possible that she is still backed up and it's not the same egg that I feel. He thinks she may be suffering from a calcium deficiency. Trying to make sure she has enough calcium, but of course, hard when there are 8 other hens fighting for treats.
This is the only avian vet in the area that would agree to even see my chicken. I am worried that the longer this goes on, the worse she will get, but she seems fine! Only once have I seen her straining to lay an egg, and that only lasted for about an hour. I honestly don't know what to do. Should I find another vet? Or just wait to see how she is?

Avril is more like a pet than the other hens, as I got her from someone else later after I got the others, and she was obviously handled much more. Also, then the other hens picked on her, and she would fly into my arms for protection.
What do you think, BW?

 

[aymer]

thanks for letting all of us know how she is doing! i wish i knew more about chickens to help answer your question but i am raising chicken for the first time and learning more every day.

 

[fargosmom]

Ace - I don't know if it will help Avril, but when I was having concerns about my girls getting enough calcium I gave them a boost by putting a bunch of Tums into a small bowl of plain yogurt. If they sit for a while the Tums dissolve into the yogurt (you can stir them in) and you wind up with a bowl of calcium-fortified yogurt that your hens will (hopefully) devour. My girls all love yogurt, one more than the rest, so it's an easy way to give them a supplement on top of their oyster shells and layer feed.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

To boost calcium many folks keep a feed container filled with oyster shell grit and let their hens help themselves as needed. You can also mix it in with their feed and so everyone gets a portion as they eat. That way they're not shoving each other out of the way to gobble it down as a treat, and the weaker ones don't get left out. You can also crumble their used egg shells, drying them first to make them easier to crumble, and mix that in with the feed. Or, since this hen is so friendly, take her out separately to give her treats like yogurt.

With my chickens I pay more attention to behavior than symptoms. If this hen has good color/appearance, is moving/eating/drinking/pooping just fine then she may not need this expensive surgery.

 

[CallyB57]

If you have the money, please take her to the vet. I have 40 chickens now and they are all pets (except for a couple of roosters - one whines all the time and the other is meaner than a snake) - but I can not take my chickens to the vet, due to financial reasons. If I could take them to the vet, you can bet your sweetcakes I'd have a couple of them at the vet's this very minute as they are suffering with bumblefoot. My birds are a wonderful thing in my life and I give them much better than reasonable and ordinary care, but there is no way I can pay $150 for a vet to clean out a bumblefoot...Do the best you can with what you have, and don't feel guilt about anything. Once I begin to beat myself up about not being able to afford a vet bill, then raising chickens will no longer be a joy to me, and I truly need the joy they bring to my life.