Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[knoturavggrl]

Hence why I've avoided chocolate cake. Chocolate isn't good for chickens anyhow. Grandma would disagree.

By some, I mean me.

I was teasing in a very friendly way, I promise. Plus, I think that description is an apt one for pretty much everyone one of us here you found your people!

 

[Sylvester017]

Jaffarra and her crop surgery

Today I opened up her crop and hauled out a bunch of smelly nasty stuff.

I first put out my supplies
View attachment 4250830

Then I trimmed plucked and cleaned her skin over the crop.
View attachment 4250831

I hauled all this crud out, I must have spent an hr digging stuff out. I would irrigate and loosen up things and the haul more out, just when o thougj I was done, there was more in there! But I think I got it all. The smell was grim, and it was impossible to keep the site clean.
View attachment 4250833

When done I use a running suture on her crop incision which about 1/2” and three single sutures on her skin. I slathered antibiotic ointment on the crop incision and the skin, then a spray of Blu-Kote, and the Amoxicillin.
View attachment 4250832

If she survives the night I’ll give her some Tylenol tomorrow morning. As I wasn’t sure how her crop was working I didn’t want to give her Tylenol. The trauma of working on the crop will have it sore and likely not working too well. I tried to put a bandage on her crop but she was agitated so I removed it. There are no shavings in her crate she is on an old sheet. I have Betty in with her.

I hauled about 10cc of putrid fluid from Betty’s crop and treated her with canestin. If her crop isn’t better by Saturday I will do her crop also and see what’s in there.

Wow! TY for sharingAmazing medical fortitude & knowledge to care so well for the sweet babies. WTH causes so much crop grief? Anyway to make a guess? How did you keep the girls immobile while doing the procedures?

That's gotta be a tough go for you midweek while in a regular job too

 

[Ponypoor]

Wow, Pony. That is some serious dedication. Surgery on a chicken is something I would never imagine doing myself, so I appreciate you doing this and even educating us on it. If it's beneficial for the chicken, then it must be done.

I am hoping I didn’t leave it too late. I should have done this last week or even before that.

I just check the camera and she is still with us.

 

[Ponypoor]

I was teasing in a very friendly way, I promise. Plus, I think that description is an apt one for pretty much everyone one of us here you found your people!

I am most definitely an ‘odd ball’ and at my age I relish in being a complete nutter! The older one gets the less one’s social filter works!

 

[Ponypoor]

Wow, Pony. That is some serious dedication. Surgery on a chicken is something I would never imagine doing myself, so I appreciate you doing this and even educating us on it. If it's beneficial for the chicken, then it must be done.

It’s a very minor surgery, but should be done as as soon as possible as the hen isn’t getting enough calories to survive - I should have did this sooner on her.

It’s a simple enough procedure but one does need to be gentle when hauling out the debris to make sure no part of the crop is damaged. The tisssue is pretty tough but one could still tear it if you hauled stuff out too fast or too hard. This is why I had lots of irrigation on hand.

 

[Ponypoor]

Wow! TY for sharingAmazing medical fortitude & knowledge to care so well for the sweet babies. WTH causes so much crop grief? Anyway to make a guess? How did you keep the girls immobile while doing the procedures?

That's gotta be a tough go for you midweek while in a regular job too

I took a vacation day. I need to use them by end of year anyways…

The task itself is simple enough, just takes a bit of fortitude and belief in one’s self.

I wrapped her in my egg apron and tied the stings to keep her from flapping. Cutting the skin was easy but the crop itself is a bit thicker and needs belief in one’s self to do it. Small incision is best, you can always make it a bit bigger but not smaller!

Picking out the debris requires patience. I spent an hr doing that. Smelly dirty work - the material is sticky and smelly. I had to ditch my gloves they were too big and I couldn’t use my hands properly.

Once all the obvious stuff I’m could easily get to was removed I flushed with a bit of normal saline. Squished the crop a bit to loosen the debris then went fishing for more.

It was amazing how big the crop area was and glow far in I went to find all that long green grass, mixed with all the fibre material - hay shavings… chunks of grain….

Ok I better get to sleep every I hope your having a good sleep of a hood evening.

 

[featherhead007]

How are you today?
I'm keeping a look out for you

Still busy in hospital. More tests, drugs and oxygen treatments. Big test tomorrow. Great that you’re thinking of me

 

[featherhead007]

Jaffarra and her crop surgery

Today I opened up her crop and hauled out a bunch of smelly nasty stuff.

I first put out my supplies
View attachment 4250830

Then I trimmed plucked and cleaned her skin over the crop.
View attachment 4250831

I hauled all this crud out, I must have spent an hr digging stuff out. I would irrigate and loosen up things and the haul more out, just when o thougj I was done, there was more in there! But I think I got it all. The smell was grim, and it was impossible to keep the site clean.
View attachment 4250833

When done I use a running suture on her crop incision which about 1/2” and three single sutures on her skin. I slathered antibiotic ointment on the crop incision and the skin, then a spray of Blu-Kote, and the Amoxicillin.
View attachment 4250832

If she survives the night I’ll give her some Tylenol tomorrow morning. As I wasn’t sure how her crop was working I didn’t want to give her Tylenol. The trauma of working on the crop will have it sore and likely not working too well. I tried to put a bandage on her crop but she was agitated so I removed it. There are no shavings in her crate she is on an old sheet. I have Betty in with her.

I hauled about 10cc of putrid fluid from Betty’s crop and treated her with canestin. If her crop isn’t better by Saturday I will do her crop also and see what’s in there.

Hang on Jaffarra

 

[featherhead007]

Yes I am thinking of doing that. But the amt off crud in there, the cellulaze wouldn’t have done anything for it.

I am now removing all the hay from the atalls so the chooks can’t eat it. I’ll get them some cabbage a couple times a week to give them something different to munch on. And no more grass for them!

Food for thought my free ranging birds eat grass all the time.

 

[featherhead007]

Wow! TY for sharingAmazing medical fortitude & knowledge to care so well for the sweet babies. WTH causes so much crop grief? Anyway to make a guess? How did you keep the girls immobile while doing the procedures?

That's gotta be a tough go for you midweek while in a regular job too

Wondering that myself