~~Tube Feeding Sick or Injured Chickens B
• Soft,flexible aquarium tubing (from Walmart $1.75)
• 2 - 10 or 12cc syringes (from Tractor Supply $.48) with no needles
• 2 - 20cc syringes (from Tractor Supply $1.45) with no needles •
Olive or vegetable oil to lubricate the tube •
Permanent magic marker to mark the length of tube needed
• Sweatshirt sleeve - Cut off sleeve of an old sweatshirt (or use an ace bandage) •
Small dish basin with folded towel to prop up chicken
• VetRx to soothe and calm before inserting tube
Mixture: Mix the following until it is silky smooth…
• Vit E • Vit C • Vit D • Turmeric • Raw Egg yolk • Mayo • Olive oil • Polyvisol w/out iron baby vitamins
Note: you can try adding crushed up feed to this mixture and making it into a slurry. I have not had any success with slurries.
There is always a teeny flake of feed that clogs the syringe and prevents it from getting the proper suction. Everything just gets stuck.
Preparation: Measure the length of tubing needed for your bird. • Place the flexible soft tubing on the chest of the bird starting at the crop area… up along the chest and neck… to up underneath its lower beak. •
Use the black marker to make a line where the tube meets the tip of the beak. •
Then add extra length (several inches) for you to grasp when administering the mixture. •
Cut the tube at the longer length.
Oil your tube with olive oil, so it will insert easily. • You can soak the tube in small jar or a cup with olive oil in it…or you can slather the outside of the tube generously with oil.
Place sweatshirt over the bird with its legs extended straight, in order to restrain it (or wrap in ace bandage). • If the legs are bent, the bird will continually press against you and try to fight the process. •
Do not wrap this too tight or apply too much pressure, as birds don’t have diaphragms like humans do. • Too much pressure may cause a bird to suffocate.
Apply VetRx to nostrils and comb to help bird relax.
Prop up bird in a small dish tub with a towel behind its back, so it is lying in a semi reclined position.
Fill a couple of syringes with the mixture, use the appropriate size syringe based on the size of your bird.
Put on an old shirt in case you get spattered.
Administering the mixture: 1. Grasp the bottom beak and hold tongue down with your left hand.
2. Using the beak, gently tug the head up to extend neck. If bird struggles and you lose grip on the tongue and beak, you can pull and elongate the neck by grasping the crest feathers.
3. Maintain this gentle upwards pull to keep the neck straight and extended.
4. Insert tube gently and up towards roof of mouth, in the top of the vertical opening to get into esophagus instead of trachea. If by accident you should place tube at the trachea, there should be resistance and the tube will not enter
5. Tube should glide into esophagus if you are in the right place. Do this slowly and gently. Stop when you feel resistance. Don't force the tube as you may be in the wrong place.
6. Check to see how much tubing you have inserted into the bird, by looking at your black mark. If you still have a bit more to go but feel some resistance…then you may want to look and see if you have let the neck relax and it has scrunched down. This can happen when the bird is wiggling around and trying to avoid the tube placement. Just gently extend the neck again. You will be holding the beak and tongue with your left hand and can just lift up the head with that hand still in place.
7. Once the tube is inserted and fully in place, the bird should be able to breathe and usually stops struggling.
8. Let bird relax for a moment before attempting to attach the syringe with the mixture.
9. Since the tube is slippery, it can be challenging to attach the syringe. Sometimes a bit of paper towel is needed to hold the tube.
10. Once the tube is attached to the syringe, ever so gently and very slowly press the plunger to feed the bird.
11. You may give a second syringe if desired.
12. When finished, gently remove the tubing. Apply more VetRx. Let bird sit for a few minutes so everything can settle. Then remove sweatshirt sleeve.
13. Now you are done, you can relax and breathe easy
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