Banana01
Songster
One of the hens in my flock came stumbling near the door one morning as I was going out to feed and water. She was obviously fighting really hard to even stand at this point, she used all her energy just to get to the door. Her clucks were weak and it was similar to being passed out drunk. Her babies were maybe a week old, but they couldn't leave her side. I saw them eating maggots the day before, but didn't stop her in time.
This story isn't about how to treat botulism. It isn't going to detail the five day fight she had with total paralysis, liquid diet, and round the clock medical care she received. Just a couple of photos of the before and after her survival.
One photo I took because I thought she was about to die, I figured it would be her last photo. She had complete paralysis. Keeping her alive meant monitoring her and positioning her head so that she can breathe. I took her out of her position to take this photo, but normally she was laying in the bed with her beak propped up on a block of wood to keep her airway open. Her babies never left her side. That was my only comfort knowing that she was with them.
Fast forward to today and she is now with her new hatches. I sat by her side for five days administering medical care and repositioning her body so she can breathe, and I do the same for all my chickens if I have to. I currently have two blind chickens that need special care. But botulism was a wicked beast to tame, I can't imagine what it must have been like having full awareness of what is happening around you, yet unable to move a muscle. That is why having her babies around her all the time is probably what kept her alive. There were several moments of near death where I had to jump out of my chair and intervene as she nearly suffocated what would have been her last breath. I even had to give mouth to beak to open the airway. I end this with a fun fact I learned while treating her. The same botulism toxin that completely shut this chickens neurological system down is what is in botox, which is used in plastic surgery. For botox, they inject the botulism toxin locally into the skin. The toxin causes paralysis and relaxes the area, hence the tightening of the wrinkles.
Botulism is survivable, and the body will return to normal, but very few people would have the time or energy to give intensive care for five days. I did for her and would do it again.
This story isn't about how to treat botulism. It isn't going to detail the five day fight she had with total paralysis, liquid diet, and round the clock medical care she received. Just a couple of photos of the before and after her survival.
One photo I took because I thought she was about to die, I figured it would be her last photo. She had complete paralysis. Keeping her alive meant monitoring her and positioning her head so that she can breathe. I took her out of her position to take this photo, but normally she was laying in the bed with her beak propped up on a block of wood to keep her airway open. Her babies never left her side. That was my only comfort knowing that she was with them.
Fast forward to today and she is now with her new hatches. I sat by her side for five days administering medical care and repositioning her body so she can breathe, and I do the same for all my chickens if I have to. I currently have two blind chickens that need special care. But botulism was a wicked beast to tame, I can't imagine what it must have been like having full awareness of what is happening around you, yet unable to move a muscle. That is why having her babies around her all the time is probably what kept her alive. There were several moments of near death where I had to jump out of my chair and intervene as she nearly suffocated what would have been her last breath. I even had to give mouth to beak to open the airway. I end this with a fun fact I learned while treating her. The same botulism toxin that completely shut this chickens neurological system down is what is in botox, which is used in plastic surgery. For botox, they inject the botulism toxin locally into the skin. The toxin causes paralysis and relaxes the area, hence the tightening of the wrinkles.
Botulism is survivable, and the body will return to normal, but very few people would have the time or energy to give intensive care for five days. I did for her and would do it again.
