Impact or Sour crop or both?

[biophiliac]

@biophiliac
Thanks for your kind comment. I do take a lot of time and effort to write my posts in as clear and concise a form as possible and I think back through the process and my thoughts and feelings as I write, to cover all the things I would have liked to have known in advance, in the hope it will make others experience less daunting.
I have been prompted to write an article about it before but never got around to it and the You Tube videos on the subject give a far better idea of the process. My contribution is just a bit of fine tuning and encouragement based on my own experience. I really don't feel like I can take much credit, as the people who make those You Tube videos are the real heroes and I doubt I would have attempted the surgery myself without those.
It would probably save me a bit of time in the long run to do an article but I do also think that it helps to tailor thoughts and advice to a persons specific situation.

Thank you

 

[BrinellP]

@biophiliac
Thanks for your kind comment. I do take a lot of time and effort to write my posts in as clear and concise a form as possible and I think back through the process and my thoughts and feelings as I write, to cover all the things I would have liked to have known in advance, in the hope it will make others experience less daunting.
I have been prompted to write an article about it before but never got around to it and the You Tube videos on the subject give a far better idea of the process. My contribution is just a bit of fine tuning and encouragement based on my own experience. I really don't feel like I can take much credit, as the people who make those You Tube videos are the real heroes and I doubt I would have attempted the surgery myself without those.
It would probably save me a bit of time in the long run to do an article but I do also think that it helps to tailor thoughts and advice to a persons specific situation.

I did it! And she's still alive this morning!!

Thank you ever so much Barbara for your encouragement and confidence in me. There is no doubt that without your talking me through it I would have attempted it. Doing something like this was so out of my comfort zone. I'm still in shock that I actually performed crop surgery on my girl.

You were so right about the first cut. I cut her feathers, plucked the quills, and taped back all the surrounding feathers. I was trying to get my space to cut but leave as many feathers as possible since I'll have to put her in with the others. I'll try to get a picture later but it's hard to see. Anyway, I went to cut and froze. Once you make that first cut your in it until the end. I told myself I either do it or she dies. So, I took a deep breathe and went for it. Between your help and the videos we made it. She had a crop full of hay, feed and sand. I did a lot of it by hand because it just wouldn't pull out in one big clump. I also flushed a lot. Getting edges together was the hardest part because it was swollen from all the handling I had to do. But we got it as best we could. (Your comments about the gray edges helped a lot). I closed the top of the outside incision and left it open at the bottom to drain. I forgot to put in the ointment so I sprayed vetricyin on it. Hopefully she'll be ok.

She did eat some hard boiled egg mixed with crumbles softened up into a mush. So hopefully everything works it's way through like it should. How often should I feed her? Should I leave food in all the time?

As you know we're leaving Thursday for four days. Do you think she'd be ok back in with her flock mates? I was thinking I could change them all over to crumbles while we're gone or would she be fine by then for the pellets?

Once again Barbara I can never thank you enough for helping us through this. Your generosity in sharing your knowledge was invaluable!!

 

[BrinellP]

Here's what we got out of her crop. My husband and daughter said that it smelled but I didn't even notice. Guess I was way to focused.lol

 

[BrinellP]

Ginger(formerly thought to be MaryAnn. I had their names mixed up.lol) thanks you Barbara for helping my mom save my life!

 

[biophiliac]

I did it! And she's still alive this morning!!

Thank you ever so much Barbara for your encouragement and confidence in me. There is no doubt that without your talking me through it I would have attempted it. Doing something like this was so out of my comfort zone. I'm still in shock that I actually performed crop surgery on my girl.

You were so right about the first cut. I cut her feathers, plucked the quills, and taped back all the surrounding feathers. I was trying to get my space to cut but leave as many feathers as possible since I'll have to put her in with the others. I'll try to get a picture later but it's hard to see. Anyway, I went to cut and froze. Once you make that first cut your in it until the end. I told myself I either do it or she dies. So, I took a deep breathe and went for it. Between your help and the videos we made it. She had a crop full of hay, feed and sand. I did a lot of it by hand because it just wouldn't pull out in one big clump. I also flushed a lot. Getting edges together was the hardest part because it was swollen from all the handling I had to do. But we got it as best we could. (Your comments about the gray edges helped a lot). I closed the top of the outside incision and left it open at the bottom to drain. I forgot to put in the ointment so I sprayed vetricyin on it. Hopefully she'll be ok.

She did eat some hard boiled egg mixed with crumbles softened up into a mush. So hopefully everything works it's way through like it should. How often should I feed her? Should I leave food in all the time?

As you know we're leaving Thursday for four days. Do you think she'd be ok back in with her flock mates? I was thinking I could change them all over to crumbles while we're gone or would she be fine by then for the pellets?

Once again Barbara I can never thank you enough for helping us through this. Your generosity in sharing your knowledge was invaluable!!

Congratulations!!!!

eta - Sure hope you are experiencing the 'surgeons high' that Barbara described! You sure deserve it!

 

[rebrascora]

MANY, MANY CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Gosh, I've been holding my breath all day waiting for that post! Was beginning to think you had chickened out (excuse the pun) and I would have completely understood if you had. That moment of scalpel in hand is incredibly daunting isn't it! I had the same thought....She will die if you don't have the guts to do this.....get on with it!

It probably took me about 15 mins to tease all the bits out through the small hole I made, but it might have been better to open the incision a bit bigger and get it all out in one go and over with more quickly. Sounds like you did a really great job. Don't you feel so good when you see that great pile of gunk and realise that there was no way it was ever going to come up or go down.

If you can, I would change them all over to crumbles whilst you are away just to make it a bit easier on her crop as it will be irritated. I would give her small mushy feeds with egg and probiotic 3 x today and if she is eating happily and pooping, you could try introducing some dry crumbles tomorrow as well as some egg separately to help build her up and see how she does. I would put a little Apple Cider Vinegar in her water (just a few drops in a cup of water) just to help rebalance her digestive PH. If she is getting sloppy feeds, don't worry if she doesn't drink much or even at all but you want to see her water going down once she is eating dry crumbles.

Will be keeping my fingers crossed until your next update..... and looking forward to hearing about empty feed bowls and plenty of poop . If I remember rightly, Vippy's poops were quite liquid at first.

I really am delighted for you. I knew by your posts that you needed personal encouragement to get through it. I'm so pleased I was able to help, but those people who made the You Tube videos are the ones who most deserve our thanks.... as I'm pretty sure, without them, neither of us would have saved our chickens.

It's all in the lap of the Gods now but you have done as much as anyone possibly could. I have read more than one account where people took their chicken to the vet for this same surgery and it died, so even if she takes a turn for the worse, you can console yourself that you have given her the best chance you could. The fact that she is eating straight away is very positive though and I'm pretty confident that she is over the worst.

It might be worth removing access to any straw dry grass or hay as I had problems with Vippy eating straw the minute I put her back in the pen with the others.....literally the first thing she did..... as you can imagine I was horrified!

Anyway, WELL DONE YOU! Considering that you are squeamish I think it is truly inspirational that you overcame it for the sake of your chicken.

 

[BrinellP]

Congratulations!!!!

eta - Sure hope you are experiencing the 'surgeons high' that Barbara described! You sure deserve it!

I totally am! It's a little surreal at the moment.lol

 

[biophiliac]

And your DH and DD must be in awe of Dr Mom!

 

[BrinellP]

MANY, MANY CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Gosh, I've been holding my breath all day waiting for that post! Was beginning to think you had chickened out (excuse the pun) and I would have completely understood if you had. That moment of scalpel in hand is incredibly daunting isn't it! I had the same thought....She will die if you don't have the guts to do this.....get on with it!

It probably took me about 15 mins to tease all the bits out through the small hole I made, but it might have been better to open the incision a bit bigger and get it all out in one go and over with more quickly. Sounds like you did a really great job. Don't you feel so good when you see that great pile of gunk and realise that there was no way it was ever going to come up or go down.

If you can, I would change them all over to crumbles whilst you are away just to make it a bit easier on her crop as it will be irritated. I would give her small mushy feeds with egg and probiotic 3 x today and if she is eating happily and pooping, you could try introducing some dry crumbles tomorrow as well as some egg separately to help build her up and see how she does. I would put a little Apple Cider Vinegar in her water (just a few drops in a cup of water) just to help rebalance her digestive PH. If she is getting sloppy feeds, don't worry if she doesn't drink much or even at all but you want to see her water going down once she is eating dry crumbles.

Will be keeping my fingers crossed until your next update..... and looking forward to hearing about empty feed bowls and plenty of poop . If I remember rightly, Vippy's poops were quite liquid at first.

I really am delighted for you. I knew by your posts that you needed personal encouragement to get through it. I'm so pleased I was able to help, but those people who made the You Tube videos are the ones who most deserve our thanks.... as I'm pretty sure, without them, neither of us would have saved our chickens.

It's all in the lap of the Gods now but you have done as much as anyone possibly could. I have read more than one account where people took their chicken to the vet for this same surgery and it died, so even if she takes a turn for the worse, you can console yourself that you have given her the best chance you could. The fact that she is eating straight away is very positive though and I'm pretty confident that she is over the worst.

It might be worth removing access to any straw dry grass or hay as I had problems with Vippy eating straw the minute I put her back in the pen with the others.....literally the first thing she did..... as you can imagine I was horrified!

Anyway, WELL DONE YOU! Considering that you are squeamish I think it is truly inspirational that you overcame it for the sake of your chicken.

 

[rebrascora]

Thanks for posting a photo of the Ginger. Lovely to see her. Is that pre or post op? I can't see the wound, so either you were very neat or it's pre op. If it's post op, she looks encouragingly well!
I didn't notice any smell when I removed a similar mass from Vippy. It certainly didn't smell bad but I feed fermented feed so I assumed it was that, that stopped her from getting sour crop. It actually really surprised me that it didn't smell bad. Maybe your daughter's olfactory senses are more easily insulted than yours or perhaps you were just really focussed. Either way, Ginger is much better off with that out than in. Great job!