Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

In a dilemma with amber. Would it be okay too add tonic into her food with a damaged liver?

 

[featherhead007]

Just arrived home. The chickens wanted out of the coop/run “ darn it daddy, what took you so long?” My chickens are very demanding

 

[featherhead007]

In a dilemma with amber. Would it be okay too add tonic into her food with a damaged liver?

Sorry bout Amber, but I’m no help

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I have written this before but it's worth repeating. The keel bone test will tell you nothing worthwhile.
You need to establish a chickens median weight over time and judge wieght loss and gain from that.

This seems logical, I was checking not the keel bone but the sides of it and how it felt. I do compare with eachother but how it is for that bird is what I was after, because these ladies have all different body types. Hazel's was insanely less than I remembered, never felt like that before, almost nothing there. This morning I was checking everyone again, and Hazel has put a little on either side, more than was there. Her poops are back to normal in consistency. She is still not acting confident among the other chickens or really interested in most foods like she was, but is eating a little bit of everything offered.

 

[Blazinga]

Oh, wow! She’s on her feet! That’s progress! Is she getting any vitamins at all? Specifically, I believe thiamine (B1) deficiency can cause ataxia.

Vitamin water, vitamin water on her mash, rice, spinach

 

[Marie2020]

Sorry bout Amber, but I’m no help

Me either

 

[bgmathteach]

You artificial beak was really quite clever. For how long did it work?

I waited a day or two before putting it on after the injury. It lasted about a week and a half, and I made another, that one lasted about 2 weeks before coming off.

By the time the second one came off, the beak had grown enough that he could eat pellets on his own, but not small stuff, nor foraging. I still helped him eat for another 2-3 weeks. Now you would never know - his re-grown beak looks completely normal. ?Guess it is like losing a toenail or fingernail? As long as the beak bed/root isn't damaged, it will grow back?

 

[bgmathteach]

I’ve seen all the links provided to help me,the only problem is me,the thing is that pop got splay legs from a week old and from my unattendance he’s still splayed till now.
Eight week old.
Could u believe that he could bring back his beautiful legs by suffering the childhood leg damage that had grown even more by 7 weeks?
The bandage I put on him will probably be useless as the tiny yogurt cup,hobble,toilet paper can and others I tried as well.Saturday is the last day for the bandage to reveal what it’s really doing inside,Sunday’s our flight to Dubai and there’s no chance I’m taking by opening it early,I’m giving it the best to hand feed him.
P.s the aviary vet I took him to said there was nothing wrong about his weight and diet,he said his legs will heal anyway,and that’s when I knew that vet was inexperienced,in fact that he did not know about splay legs at all.I’ve been troubling with Pop for weeks to make him thrive and the vet’s saying the leg will heal?i don’t really think he expected me to make pop suffer and thrive for months,I don’t know what to do.I hope pop’s gonna be ok.

I would still try the 'physical therapy' so that the muscles/tendons/ligaments strengthen/tighten in the right position. With it that long that he has had splayed leg, it will probably take quite a while, but then I did physical therapy for 8 weeks after my knee replacement....think of it like that. 2-3 20 min. sessions a day, each day you can...for as long as you can. Even if it is only 50% improved, it will still give him much better quality of life than it is now.

 

[bgmathteach]

Wow, that is great progress from just a week ago!!!! She is looking good

 

[bgmathteach]

Thank you for taking the time to watch them. I really hope you are right.
Last night she roosted with everyone else so I let her be until 5am when we had our little coconut and massage routine. I would say her crop was almost empty this morning - just some sludgy stuff right at the bottom which I pummeled around in case that helped to get it moving.
Again today she sort of relaxed during the massage. I can highly recommend this as a soothing morning routine to sit in the coop in the dark with a warm and sleepy chicken tucked under one arm while you knead at her crop. Honestly I am beginning to think this is as much for me as for her! Maybe I should do this for everyone in the flock in turn!
A couple of other quick updates yesterday she ate a lot - I kept her in the hospital to make sure she ate - beef and mash from commercial feed with cabbage. She likes the cabbage best and picks it out - but ate a couple of heaped table spoons of that mixture. This morning when I put her into the hospital bed she tucked in to breakfast immediately even though it is still dark. Today I am serving scrambled egg with beef cabbage and Kefir (for the probiotics).
I am really, really hoping she will come through this. I have to go on a business trip next week and I am not sure I can ask the lady who will care for my animals to do this routine so really hoping she is better by the weekend.
Finally, ages back @Shadrach had mentioned having a headlamp with a red light. I already used a headlamp so I just filed it away in memory banks. My old one is still working but is getting to the end of its natural life (already extended with a fair bit of tape) so I splashed out and got a new one with a red light option. It is a game changer! The ladies can still see I am there but they are way less disturbed by the red light.
Sorry for long ramble!

This sounds so promising with Minnie, RC. Great work