Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Shadrach]

I am 100% caught up!

On hawks...nvm. tell story later. Have to go disassemble a door knob.

Take a hammer. That usually works.

 

[rural mouse]

Take a hammer. That usually works.

That also breaks the door. I prefer screwdrivers: allows for take apart and prying. Bonus: long, narrow thing to insert into small spaces.

 

[Shadrach]

Hmm… well, it was quite firm this morning and didn’t seem to move until I added fluid. Perhaps it’s just slow. The stuff in her crop did seem to break up a bit, so *I think* I’m applying enough pressure? I’m a bit concerned about applying too much, since her crop is so full and I’m not sure what she ate. I’m guessing feathers.
I can try taking her aside, having her drink on her own, then massage, then let her back with the flock. She seems a little perkier than this morning, so I hope I’m helping and figured fluid would be good regardless. I don’t think I could be hurting. Do you? Thanks!

Regarding massage pressure. I squeeze the crop hard enough to deform any obstruction or congealed mass. An approximate guage is if you take an average sized wooden clothes peg (I guess most are plastic these days but the spring pressure is probably similar) and the pressure required to fully open and hold the clothes peg open is about the pressure I use. It needs to be enough pressure to break up whatever is obstructing the crop, not just move it around.
I can feel in some cases (it depends on what the obstruction is) pieces of the obstruction break off. I know I'm making progress when I can squeeze and feel the crop walls come into contact with each other.
Bear in mind the position of the crop. The crop hangs off the side of what is essentially a straight run of tubing down the throat and on to the crop and through to the proventriculus which leads down to the gizzard. You can feed a tube right down to the gizzard without it going into the crop sack.
So, any matter congealed in the crop usually needs to be forced upwards from the bottom of the crop becaus the bottom of the crop is lower than the opening to the proventriculus.
You can usually feel the main obstruction getting smaller as each day of maasage and wash out goes by. Eventually you may be left with something the size of a broad bean instead of the golf ball you started off with. The proventriculus has quite a large opening, on average sized chickens easily wide enough to pass 10mm diameter ball down. Once the blockage has got to the gizzard the problem is over. The gizzard is an incredibly strong organ and combined with some grit can crush a dried ear of corn. Try that with your teeth!

 

[rural mouse]

You finally catch up and then you go disassemble a door knob!

Congrats on getting all caught up. That's amazing!

When you're writing the post and a kid comes up going: Mom, I think the doorknob is broken.... flashbacks happen to the last doorknob which wouldn't turn, door was closed and the latch thingy (goes from door into doorjamb) won't retract even after knob is disassembled (had to semi break the jamb to get it out), you go in a hurry to keep them from closing the door before you look at the knob guts. Good news: it broke in mostly retracted position so if left closed, the wind will blow the door open. The bolt lock works fine so keeps the door closed until we can get new knobs (likely replacing all the exterior knobs before the others break).

 

[Shadrach]

I forgot to ask… what did you do with the one impaction?

She died.

 

[Shadrach]

I feel so mean, but here you go!

It's not a sound I've ever heard a rooster make as an alam call but it seems to work.

 

[rural mouse]

It's not a sound I've ever heard a rooster make as an alam call but it seems to work.

If it works, it's an alarm call.

 

[Shadrach]

Deana had a hard crop that wasn’t moving once. She ate coconut oil off the spoon, which she loved, and was massaged, which she tolerated. It made her burp a few times and I could feel the mass breaking up after several minutes. From Shad’s and your description I’m thinking that it wasn’t a bad impaction.

All this because I wanted to say that the coconut oil I have is about the consistency of mashed potatoes at room temperature and I don’t freeze it. What is the reason for freezing it before giving it to the hens?

I keep it in the fridge. This way it is cold enough to stay in one lump. I found it's a lot easy to feed hens lumps than it is to feed slippery liquid. In a couple of servings I can get quite a lot of cocconut oil into them without too much trouble.
The easier it all goes the less stressed I am the the less stressed the patient is.

 

[Blazinga]

I was just reading Rainbow Fish yesterday.

I have this distinct memory of playing an old rainbow fish computer game.

Tax:

 

[Chicken poppy]

I have this distinct memory of playing an old rainbow fish computer game.

Tax:
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Me aswell! I think i read the book when I was really young. Funny how popular that was.