Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Don’t you just love it when they want to be near you? I have a few old, large square beach towels that are now chicken towels. When I pull it out, they come running and gather around. I have many, many photos over the years of them hanging around my lap and towel. Warms my heart!

That's just awesome. I love those moments. The chair under the magnolia tree is where the magic happens for me.

 

[featherhead007]

Don’t you just love it when they want to be near you? I have a few old, large square beach towels that are now chicken towels. When I pull it out, they come running and gather around. I have many, many photos over the years of them hanging around my lap and towel. Warms my heart!

I had all my 32 birds in the same place having a prooning party today. So cute. I almost wished I had feathers so I could join them. I passed out treats instead.

 

[micstrachan]

Help please

River was making a funny noise this morning, almost yipping like a small dog. I watched her carefully and she came and had some breakfast and seemed her normal self, plus she also made her normal vocalisations. She came down to the run to check out the food I’d put in the feeder and I only just by chance noticed that when she bent down, brown liquid came out of her beak. The last time I saw that, my hen died. Can I have some advice please? She’s really skittish and hard to catch, plus I have no knowledge of sour crop or impacted crop. I can’t believe I might have to make another trip to the vet and I’m starting to wonder if I can continue to keep chickens. I don’t know what to do.

I’m so sorry, Lozzy. You need to tend to this right away. I suspect sour crop. Very, very gently feel her crop, taking care not to squish it, or you could aspirate her. Check if it’s empty in the morning. If not, I would start her on an antifungal right away. I have had excellent success with clotrimazol vaginal cream. Suck some up into a syringe and deposit it under her tongue so she swallows on her own. There are other treatments, as well. I’ll keep reading to catch up and see if there is a development on this.

 

[micstrachan]

And here we are ... nothing works! This was just now! Maybe I should say... BROODIES BE CRAZY!!View attachment 2135028View attachment 2135029

OMG! Broody central?

 

[micstrachan]

I had all my 32 birds in the same place having a prooning party today. So cute. I almost wished I had feathers so I could join them. I passed out treats instead.

Photos?

 

[micstrachan]

Lozzy, I’m going to check the emergency forum (where I used to always hang out and still pop in sometimes) to see if you have any updates. You need to treat the crop first, then look deeper to see why she got the crop problem in the first place.

 

[Ribh]

Ali James is replying to posts she is reading from a month ago. You need to check the post she is referencing above her post.

Not Ali's posts causing me problems, Bob. It's the recent posts. Ive had trouble with Shad & Lozzy.

 

[micstrachan]

Thanks RC, I checked out the Crop article on BYC which seems pretty comprehensive, but I don’t know what I’m meant to be feeling for. I just picked up Lucy (much to her disgust) and felt her crop, but it just felt like her. I’ll try feeling them at night and again in the morning before they’ve eaten and drunk anything, but I just can’t work out what I’m meant to be feeling.

Lozzy, be very careful when picking her up and handling her. There should be a noticible difference in her crop before and after roosting at night. Is she eating normally? How does her poop look?

 

[LozzyR]

Lozzy, be very careful when picking her up and handling her. There should be a noticible difference in her crop before and after roosting at night. Is she eating normally? How does her poop look?

Thanks for your help Michelle. I managed to pick her up before but I don’t know what I’m feeling for. I hope I didn’t squish her, I was being quite firm. Her poo from last night looks normal, she was eating quite voraciously and has been drinking too. My friend suggested yoghurt in the morning. If her crop is full in the morning, do I cage her and let her fast, after giving her thrush cream? What about apple cider vinegar in the water?

 

[Ribh]

@BY Bob: I lost my copy in a fire but I think I have made a muddle & what I owned was this: https://www.amazon.com.au/Quest-Merlin-Nikolai-Tolstoy/dp/0316850802
From memory it was very readable as well as being informative ~ & yes, a relative of that Tolstoy.