I Just Emptied an Impacted Crop (update good news pg 3)

[Break an Egg]

My hen "speedy" seems to be doing fine. She was very still during most of the operation. I had to cut open her chest and her crop since nothing we did made her crop empty. She had been throwing up and sick from her crop becoming sour.

I just got done with it all, and I need to know how soon I can give her water. I also plan to put some terramycin in her water to make sure there will be no infection.

This is the first time have ever done anything like this, and I'm surprised that I could do it at all.

Does anyone have any advice as to what I can do for her?

 

[jeaucamom]

go ahead and give her water for the first 12 hours.... if she seems to be doing okay, then start with some soft mash and cooked egg yolks. Keep us posted!! Congrats on saving your hen!!

 

[Break an Egg]

Quote:
Well thanks, but were not out of the woods yet. I hope there will be no infection. I will be giving her a bit of yogurt tomorrow and maybe some applesauce.

I hope I did save her. She is a beautiful EE.

I will post some pics tommorow

 

[blue90292]

did you have to cut the skin then the crop? did you sew them separately? how is your baby doing? i don't have anyone to hold her down while i cut and clean. will i be able to do this on my own?

thank you.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

You could probably do it on your own. You would have to restraing her by wrapping her in a towel. There is a great sticky showing how to do the procedure at the top of this forum.

 

[Break an Egg]

First I cut feathers and then applied iodine my husband made a 2 inch incision at the lower bulge of the crop. Then he had to make an incision on the crop. I was the one who squeezed an got all the gunk out. Then i rinsed with saline solution and sewed up her crop and then tied it off and sewed up her skin.

During all of this, my stepdaughter held her wrapped in a towel. I put terramycin in her water and kept her separated from the rest for over a week. During that week I let her rest. I gave her only water the first day and after that only soft foods like bread soaked in milk, yogurt, sugar free applesauce, boiled egg mixed with yogurt, and before I let her out again, I was giving her yogurt with crumbles on top.

She is doing fine now and I'm glad I went through all the effort.

You have to find someone to hold her down. I don't think I could do it by myself. My helper was my husband and my 9 yr old SD.

 

[Nugget]

*Preparing for another onslaught and a closed thread...*
I know that many people feel that if there is no money or resources for veterinary care, that a knife and a kitchen table beat having an animal die.

Surgery without anesthetic, pain medication or a medical education has to be seen for what it is. If animals are going to be in our care, we have to be able to provide for them. If we can't afford needed medical care, we need to reconsider keeping them. A hatchet to process an impacted bird can be a better choice than causing her to live through a conscious surgery.

 

[blue90292]

nugget, i respect your opinion but sometimes we do what we have to do.

btw, i'm glad they didn't chop off my friends head when she got into a car accident and sliced open her arm. because she was pregnant, the ems could not give her any pain medication but had to stop the bleeding. so they cleaned her arm which had shards of glass which they had to pick out one by one, and then sewed her up right there without anesthetic.

i'm sure a wolf that bites off his arm rather than just lay there and die after getting it in a trap, wouldn't be thinking of "Surgery without anesthetic, pain medication or a medical education". he just wants to live and i just want my hen to live.

like i said, sometimes we do what we have to do. it is not something that i have taken lightly. i've called three vets in my area who have all told me to just put the hen down. especially since she's 8 years old. they will not even look at my bird. i refuse to put her down when there is hope that i may be able to save her.

texas star, thank you very much for your advice.

 

[dangerouschicken]

You are brave to have done this. I couldn't have, and wouldn't have, but you did, and I hope she survives and thrives.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I'm glad your girl is doing good! Sometimes we can not find a vet to work on our girls and we have to take matters into our own hands. You did good!



Nugget-Our vet numbs the hide of the cows for c-sections, DA's, etc. but, once in they don't numb the organ they are working on. Episomity's are done without anything. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a vet that will work on poultry by you but, I know from experience there isn't any around me.