Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Desertvalleychickens]

Hit, run, then smack your bum (on something while escaping from the room).
Her flight was pretty impressive. That bird can fly pretty well.

Yep, she is also a fast flier too! She once flew across the whole coop in 4 seconds! (Yes, I counted)

 

[notabitail]

Oh yes, my chicks use their overpowered wings to deliver mightily slaps to the face!

Mine are full grown. They use wings to hit my face and feet to scratch my arm.

 

[notabitail]

Yep, she is also a fast flier too! She once flew across the whole coop in 4 seconds! (Yes, I counted)

Wow

 

[RoyalChick]

The vet used it once, I used it with difficulty once but actually twice - because first it was stiff then suddenly gave way - picture liquid feed spray over bathroom walls, furniture, sink, me - so I made another batch and it worked, but very hard, then this last unsuccessful time would be the fourth time, so it got barely three uses.

Yup. I think the most I ever managed out of one regular syringe was 4 or maybe 5 times and that included greasing the gasket.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Wow

Yeah, I just hope she doesn't turn into escape artist of the season, because she is being well taught by her little friends Stormfeather and Amberfeather

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Yeah, I just hope she doesn't turn into escape artist of the season, because she is being well taught by her little friends Stormfeather and Amberfeather
View attachment 3592088

That is Stormfeather

 

[notabitail]

Yeah, I just hope she doesn't turn into escape artist of the season, because she is being well taught by her little friends Stormfeather and Amberfeather
View attachment 3592088

Unfortunately they all work together so one can escape, hence making them all escape artists.

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Tube feeding supplies

In case helpful to anyone here are what I found to be the best tube feeding supplies:

Catheter/Tube
People improvise with all sorts of tubing they have around the house but I think it is better to have something that is made with a smooth tip so it doesn't hurt the chicken as it goes down.
If you buy a tube feeding kit they will often come with a red tube that is 14Fr gauge (Fr stands for French which is one very common standard for measuring catheters - the bigger the number the bigger the tube).
I found the 14Fr tubes to be too small (made it harder to push in the feed and easier for a small movement of my hands to end up pulling it out of place, also harder to feel you have it in the right place).
I was advised to use a urinary catheter (for people) - these are commonly available from medical supply companies, Amazon and some pharmacies. A typical size is 16Fr.
Personally I found the whole process less stressful for me and the chicken by using a colonic irrigation catheter used for giving coffee enemas (I have no idea what that is, but it is enough of a 'thing' to be able to source the catheters easily on Amazon). I found a 20Fr or even 22Fr colonic tube to be by far the easiest to use and allowed me to give the feed very fast.
I have never Tube fed a baby chick so all the above applies to fully feathered chickens!

Syringe
You want a syringe that you can just slip the tube on. Called a 'catheter tip'.
Avoid a 'Luer Lock' end which requires the tube to be screwed on (which it won't do), and a Luer slip tip can work, but depending on size may be too small to fit the tubing..

A good size syringe allows you to give the full dose of feed without much fuss (think 3 seconds). I was using 50ml or 60ml syringes to give only 30ml feeds because I couldn't find 30ml syringes.

It is a very common problem for the syringe to get very stiff and almost impossible to plunge after a few uses. They are made for single use and the rubber gasket becomes worn after 2-3 uses. I think 5 was the most I ever got out of a syringe.

However, there is a type of syringe called an O-ring syringe which uses a silicone O-ring instead of a rubber gasket and that is much easier to plunge and as far as I can tell is reusable many, many, many times. I found mine on line at a squirrel rescue - he seems out of stock at the moment but I think Amazon may carry them.

Alternatively just be ready to use up a bunch of 50ml syringes!

Food
There are several rehabilitation foods available. They are typically powders that you mix with water until the mixture is goopy enough to go easily through the tube. I started making it too firm - in the end I found a gruel like consistency to work best.
The brand I used and I think @micstrachan does too is Kaytee - which is specifically formulated for birds.
It is quite expensive and has a shortish shelf-life. I freeze the powder so I can keep it longer.

Finally, on BYC and on YouTube there are a number of very good videos and explanations of how to insert the tube and make sure you do not risk aspiration in your bird. With practice I found inserting a tube to be relatively easy and well tolerated.

Hope this helps.

EDITED: to correct the type of syringe tip to look for

Tax - they are taking over
View attachment 3591568

I googled squirrel rescue supplies and came up with https://www.squirrelsandmore.com/
"Chris's Squirrels and More - Wildlife Rehabilitation Supplies"
And maybe they're back in stock because it let me order a pack (we'll see):
https://www.squirrelsandmore.com/pr...ring-catheter-tip-syringe?variant=18410810503

Good to get this on hand, for the future if not for Butters. And nice to order from other than Amazon, though I'll be back there for the tubes soon no doubt.

PS I couldn't help but laugh thinking of you ordering from a squirrel rehab place, with all those camera shots of fox making off with squirrel after squirrel...

 

[RoyalChick]

I googled squirrel rescue supplies and came up with https://www.squirrelsandmore.com/
"Chris's Squirrels and More - Wildlife Rehabilitation Supplies"
And maybe they're back in stock because it let me order a pack (we'll see):
https://www.squirrelsandmore.com/pr...ring-catheter-tip-syringe?variant=18410810503

Good to get this on hand, for the future if not for Butters. And nice to order from other than Amazon, though I'll be back there for the tubes soon no doubt.

PS I couldn't help but laugh thinking of you ordering from a squirrel rehab place, with all those camera shots of fox making off with squirrel after squirrel...

It was my version of making amends!

 

[Ponypoor]

The vet used it once, I used it with difficulty once but actually twice - because first it was stiff then suddenly gave way - picture liquid feed spray over bathroom walls, furniture, sink, me - so I made another batch and it worked, but very hard, then this last unsuccessful time would be the fourth time, so it got barely three uses.

Yep I know the spray in the face bit I once got a good taste of horse wormer when my Arab mare spat it out just as I was yelling at her, blop, big gloop of wormer in my mouth! Trust me it was NOT apple flavoured! Hazards of animals, I have had poopy cow tails in the face, my Thoroughbred mare peed on her tail and swatted me in the face with her tail. I have tasted horse poop gravel many times falling off, and today I got a good spray of poopy water as I was washing Tuff’s poopy butt. Yummy

Anywhooo - I keep a supply of various sizes of syringes on hand.