- Nov 3, 2010
- 11
- 0
- 75
One of our Black Copper Marans got attacked by a raccoon 2 weeks ago. We’ve never had a bird survive before and have little experience with this. She had injuries around her head, which I bandaged and most seem to be healing well.
We tried to syringe water and gruel to her for 11 days, largely unsuccessfully; I considered trying to tube feed her but thought her injuries were too fresh around her head. On day 6 I mistakenly thought she had started eating/drinking, but then noticed she was starting to fade a bit, and her eye near the worst injury was closed most of the time. Clearly she was beyond dehydrated.
I started tube feeding her 4 days ago: 55-60 ml of Exact mixture 2 x day at first, then 3x a day (with some electrolytes & vitamins). The second day we also gave her 50 ml water. She weighs 3.5 lbs. She can walk, responds to us, puts up a good fight at feeding, and even showed interest tonight in the surroundings outside her cage. Still, I’ve not seen even a hint of her interest in drinking/ eating on her own.
I suppose it’s possible that her injury is to her brain and she is somehow incapable of eating. My question is, is this a normal amount of time for her to go without eating/drinking on her own? Should I increase feedings? 55-60ml seems like the max amount for a single feeding.
Also, her first poop after tube feeding was surprisingly normal, but with the exception of another very small normal one today, they’ve been very watery since we started the feedings. I’m out of my league with this level if care and would appreciate some knowledgeable advice!
We tried to syringe water and gruel to her for 11 days, largely unsuccessfully; I considered trying to tube feed her but thought her injuries were too fresh around her head. On day 6 I mistakenly thought she had started eating/drinking, but then noticed she was starting to fade a bit, and her eye near the worst injury was closed most of the time. Clearly she was beyond dehydrated.
I started tube feeding her 4 days ago: 55-60 ml of Exact mixture 2 x day at first, then 3x a day (with some electrolytes & vitamins). The second day we also gave her 50 ml water. She weighs 3.5 lbs. She can walk, responds to us, puts up a good fight at feeding, and even showed interest tonight in the surroundings outside her cage. Still, I’ve not seen even a hint of her interest in drinking/ eating on her own.
I suppose it’s possible that her injury is to her brain and she is somehow incapable of eating. My question is, is this a normal amount of time for her to go without eating/drinking on her own? Should I increase feedings? 55-60ml seems like the max amount for a single feeding.
Also, her first poop after tube feeding was surprisingly normal, but with the exception of another very small normal one today, they’ve been very watery since we started the feedings. I’m out of my league with this level if care and would appreciate some knowledgeable advice!
