Hen Losing Weight

[casportpony]

Her hydration needs to be corrected first. Is her crop empty?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Duh, you already said BO, sorry, I forgot. Just under 3 pounds is very light for a BO, so I suspect she's been sick for quite some time.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Try inserting just the tube and verify that you can feel it go down the right side of her neck all the way into her crop. Do that a few times until you get the hang of it. Then mix 30ml warmed Gatorade wit 2-3ml corn syrup. Give 10ml and check her crop. Repeat until you feel a slight bulge to her crop. A big BO can take at least 60ml, but better to put just a little in at a time and make sure she isn't going to vomit. Make sense?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

You can repeat as soon as her crop clears. I usually do this a couple of times before I give baby food, which I mix to about 1 part baby food, two parts liquid. If she were mine I would give fluids now, more fluids an hour later, then baby bird food in one more hour.

Do not tube food if her crop is not clearing. It doesn't have to empty completely, but it should empty some. Make sense?

-Kathy

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Her crop does not feel empty. When I opened her mouth I see a lot of phlegm around her trachea. I tried to give her a little liquid not with a tube just in front of her beak. She tried to take it, but it all came back up. She's kind of wheezing now. I noticed it when I brought her in.

 

[casportpony]

Her crop does not feel empty.  When I opened her mouth I see a lot of phlegm around her trachea.  I tried to give her a little liquid not with a tube just in front of her beak.  She tried to take it, but it all came back up.  She's kind of wheezing now.  I noticed it when I brought her in.

That's a bad sign... Crop stasis, phlegm, wheezing can all be signs that the dying process has started. Is there liquid in the crop? If so, there is no reason to tube fluids until it clears. You could try giving her just a little corn syrup and see if that perks her up.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

I sent you a PM with my number.

-Kathy

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Thanks you. I got a bit of fluid in her finally and she's resting. I'll keep checking her and keep you posted.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

She made it through the night. We just.got done giving her some more food. We got a bit of liquid and food in her last night. There's a teeny tiny poop I'll upload after the morning chores. There was still quite a bit of phlegm to get around, but with what we got in her last night and this morning the scale read a fee more ounces. She was at exactly 3 lbs. I feel even more hopeful today than I did yesterday and I hope she does too.

 

[BayBay Peepers]