Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

And she does look otherwise healthy and happy. It really does look like Bernadette. Great appetite, no other issues. Just weak in one leg. Bernadette got to a more extreme issue but there were times when she looked very similar.

Thanks. That gives me hope. Gosh they worry us so.

 

[RoyalChick]

Thanks. That gives me hope. Gosh they worry us so.

Back at you.

 

[bgmathteach]

Poor lady. Roosters should be more considerate.

Oh, but Roosters ARE considerate....


They CONSIDER their hormones quite frequently, then act upon those thoughts!

 

[bgmathteach]

Thirsty Thursday

Oooooh, open door and no escapees!! No even playing 'one foot in , one foot out' with you.

 

[BY Bob]

Oooooh, open door and no escapees!! No even playing 'one foot in , one foot out' with you.

That's from a couple of days ago.

 

[featherhead007]

Thirsty Thursday

I love the peep, peep peeps from those Pullets!

 

[bgmathteach]

Thanks. That gives me hope. Gosh they worry us so.

 

[fuentemoon]

Busy day here today so a couple of very late thirsty thursday pics.​

Broody Rosie drinking and a close up of Brenna.​

Ms Alinta

 

[Kris5902]

Twiggy and George are 6 weeks old today. I brought Twiggy in to get some pictures.
Rosie claims that when Twig stands upright she/he looks like a emu. Twig also has one stray feather coming in that is giving off the impression of a tiny mowhawk.
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I totally agree with Rosie! Like a little miniature emu so adorable

 

[ManueB]

For all you Goths out there an update on Bella Dracula.

It was a high drama vet visit with no ultimate conclusion. Here is how it played out.

I show up to the vet and am explaining everything I have observed (I previously sent the vet videos of Bella's strange breathing). I just got to the point where I am explaining that it is getting neither better nor worse each day, when Bella stops even trying to stand and then she can't hold her head up. So definitely worse.
Then she closes her eyes and loses all muscle tone.
The vet and I jump to the same conclusion - heat stroke. The vet gets me water which I put in Bella's mouth drop at a time (she dutifully swallows each drop without opening her eyes), the vet tech grabs a portable A/C machine to get the room cooler.
And slowly Bella comes around.
The vet tech even managed to get her to eat some of the mash I brought by feeding it to her with a spoon (seems Bella prefers to be spoon fed than eat directly from the bowl).
I think she must have over-heated in the car - I had her in the back and maybe the A/C doesn't reach there? Or maybe the A/C isn't working so well because I confess I was pretty hot too.
If I had remembered it was Thursday I would have got the vet tech to take a picture of me dropper feeding Bella water!
Anyway, drama over, but the mystery illness is still a mystery. The vet is consulting others and will get back to me.
It was good to have a professional confirm that there are no abnormal chest/lung/upper respiratory sounds, that her mouth, throat and nares all look clear, that she doesn't have parasites on her skin and her vent looks healthy.
So there is really no hint as to what is going wrong.
The vet confirmed that her action is indeed gaping (as in gape worm) but agreed we shouldn't jump to that conclusion as it is very rare. She agreed it is far from typical for mycoplasma, but on the other hand that is very common.
She asked that I continue supportive care while she consults. That means getting calories into her however I can (I have discovered that Bella loves scratch grain, yellow melons and red peppers), and keeping her hyrdated.
It will be hot tomorrow so I think I will bring Bella into the house for her meals so she can get a break from the heat. I don't want to move her in entirely because she is very bonded to Bernadette and Lulu and I think it would be stressful to separate them for any length of time.

I am emotionally drained now and ready to roost!

That must have been pretty scary . What temperature are you having outside ?

I don't have scientific backup but I think animal that don't sweat do worse in the heat if there is no ventilation. A temperature they could bear outside, could be too much in the back of a car.
They produce their own body heat and can't sweat to cool them up.
It also goes the other way. It's common sense but I was made aware of it by the vet when I had my four months kitty spayed in winter, and she lived outside : animals that are unwell (in her case fragile when coming out of the anesthesia) won't be able to regulate their body heat normally, especially young animals.

I guess you would have preferred a clear diagnosis but at least she eliminated some possibilities.

I have helped many with mycoplasma. No worries.

I'd be interested to know how it is treated. I thought it was something that would concern all the flock, am I wrong ?