Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

So I’ll be popping in when I can. I have the girls out right now, since the pumpkin cheesecake is in the oven. Oh, what a freaking fiasco that was! I don’t know what on earth I was thinking. I filled the roasting pan with hot water before transferring the whole thing to the oven and made a giant mess. Lol! This will be fun to clean later… Not! But I think it will still be tasty.

I also took a tour of the oxialis in the yard, including Buttercup snacking on it.

 

[Marie2020]

They are both holes in the skulls. My understanding is that the hole in the case of a Vaulted Skull closes as the chick grows. What Legertha had was similar in that it was a hole in the skull but it was a different kind of hole and it did not close.

Legertha's brain was likely growing outside the hole even as the hole was not growing.

In vaulted skulls, the brain is exposed but it is not growing outside the skull and the skull usually grows over the hole to cover the brain completely as they grow.

 

[micstrachan]

Jaffar has found Arizona safely nested on a clutch of eggs behind the tool shed . He called out, she came running! (Why can’t I do that?)

YAY!!!!!

 

[micstrachan]

YAY!!!!!

Alex, I popped back in after my cheesecake and oxialis post specifically to look for an Arizona update. I’m glad she is safe!

 

[micstrachan]

I did a bit of looking in academic papers and from what I could tell it is not the same as vaulted skull which does not expose the brain to any issues.

I didn’t look it up, but that was my understanding. Thanks for confirming.

 

[micstrachan]

Bob, I have been thinking about what Marie said, and she is absolutely right. You should be proud for providing Legertha a wonderful life, even though it was short. That part was completely out of your hands. She was always loved and cared for.

 

[micstrachan]

Hmmmm...it looks like she is moving closer to Sylvie...and Sylvie moved as close as she dared towards Phyllis.

Makes me think of this song:

(maybe I'm jumping the gun)

Or this one!

 

[rural mouse]

Storm's face is pinking (stupid autocorrect made it linking )up! She's 17 weeks tomorrow. Is she going to lay early or is she just popping color? She was in a nest box with an egg (not warm) kinda like she's practicing.

Bonus gratuitous pics from feeding them some leftover pulled pork.

 

[Marie2020]

Jaffar has found Arizona safely nested on a clutch of eggs behind the tool shed . He called out, she came running! (Why can’t I do that?)

that's another good bit of news today. @MaryJanet little Mary is on the mend to

 

[bgmathteach]

Initial Necropsy Results are Back

It seems to have been a congenital defect. There was an abnormality in her brain/skull.

It does rule out trauma as the cause. The hemorrhage in the skin at the base of the skull is likely from her falling off the roost that night.

Here is the text of the initial report.

The most significant macroscopic findings in this chicken involved a suspect meningoencephalocele with adjacent subcutaneous hemorrhage, subcutaneous masses within the neck, and subjective thickening of the right sacral plexus. A meningoencephalocele is a congenital abnormality that occurs when there is improper formation/fusing of the bones of the calvarium and portions of the meninges and/or neuroparenchyma are external to the remaining bones. In this case, there was hemorrhage within the overlying subcutaneous tissue and at the base of the skull which may suggest trauma. While there was evidence of trauma in the head region, there were no obvious fractures of the bones indicating the brain exposure was a pre-existing condition and not secondary to trauma. In addition to this finding, there were masses within the subcutaneous tissue along the neck and subjective thickening of the right sacral plexus which may suggest this chicken had Marek’s disease.

My poor baby......
View attachment 2907775

I'm so glad you know and glad that it wasn't from a hawk attack, but that is just terrible luck for you and Mrs @ BY Bob, that Legertha had a congenital condition.

Nice to know that Sylvie hopped down and kept Legertha company during her last time, so she was comforted and not alone.