Looking for OLD POST of KITCHEN SURGERY

[Chicken Boo]

I weighed her and gave her the penicillin. She was much more engaged, active, fussy about getting picked up and hungry. After the shot, she started pecking at my shirt so I got her food and she had several beakfuls of yogurt soaked bread. The swelling is down and she is acting more comfortable. We will see if this continues.

She is making the occasional barky sound like she is clearing her throat. It may be because she is dry. As of this morning, her comb is drooping over, which I have never seen before. My guess it is because she is dehydrated.

I am going to let her rest now and go hear my DH's band.

Any further advice would be welcome.

 

[AndreaS]

I'm so glad to hear you're making some progress! I think with the Pen you're supposed to let it come to room temperature and shake It really well before you syringe it out.

Out of curiosity, have you gotten any colored or infected looking fluid out of her? When speckledhen posted her results, the fluid was green/yellow/brown.

I'm sure she's relieved to have all that pressure gone and be able to poop! At the very least you've made her more comfortable.

Has she shown any interest in the honey water, or have you been able to get any of it in her? The dehydration worries me.

I hope you get to relax a little and enjoy your evening!

 

[Chicken Boo]

Thank you.

I extracted the tiny amount she was supposed to get and let the syringe sit on the counter for 20 min and put the bottle in the fridge.

The fluid is clear with a yellow tint. It was a little more yellow today than yesterday.

When I was getting ready to leave for the evening, Natalie was eating the watered down yogurt soaked bread. When I got home, about half (2 tbs) was gone and she has eaten a couple table spoons of her regular food. I could not tell if she had drank any water but there is moisture in the yogurt. Her comb is still droopy, though.

She has made a few of those barky sounds since I have been home but when I went over there, she seemed to be dozing. Maybe she is dreaming.

Thanks again for your help and interest.

 

[AndreaS]

Its no problem. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm the sort of person who reads everything they can get their hands on when they get into a new hobby. I have amassed a huge amount of information on chicken health issues and treatments.

I wonder what the barky sounds could be? Could it be a sneeze?

I wonder if she could have a respiratory issue.....have you noticed any nasal discharge, bubbles in her eyes or rattling in her chest? Just throwing ideas out.....I dont know if any of the respiratory issues hens get include fluid retention? Like pneumonia?

I'm glad she's eating at least.

Thanks for the updated!

 

[Chicken Boo]

No nasal discharge. The first night I brought her in, she has the clicking sound when she switched from inhale to exhale but that seems to be gone now.

She hasn't eaten a lot, but some of food is gone without my having to give it to her by hand or put it on her beak.

I just felt her abdomen. It feels like some of the liquid has been replaced but it is not anywhere near as swollen as it was before. Instead of an overfilled water balloon, she feels more like an underfilled water balloon. We will drain her again later today. We did not get to sleep after Tim's gig until 4 AM.

The rest of the flock is getting wormed this morning. I will worm her when I know that she is a little stronger (a day or two).

Have a good day.

 

[AndreaS]

How's she doing tonight?

 

[Chicken Boo]

You had to mention nasal discharge. ;-) She is not dripping/running or anything. I just noticed that it was a bit damp around her nasal openings.

I caught her eating on her own, not a lot but eating regular food and a few nips at bits of apple and lettuce. I got her some grit and oyster shell for her to use at her leisure (it occurred to me that she had not had access to grit for a few days). She does seem to just want to sleep most of the time. I am trying to let her when I am not poking her in the belly. She was dozing off while I was draining her this afternoon.

I have not seen her drink, though. I may try a little GatorAde. Does a droopy comb mean dehydration? It is less droopy than it was, but not back up yet.

We drained ~ 30 ml earlier today. I is a little more yellow and opaque and DH said is smelled a bit (more as the color got darker). She still looks a little swollen, but I imagine it will take the skin a while to retract. Her belly had no feathers on it, they are beginning to grow back. Her belly does not feel as hot as it did.

I have to go give her the penicillin now. I should have done that a couple hours ago but routines are totally out of whack these days.

 

[AndreaS]

Oh no, sorry for making you paranoid!

The droopy comb is a sign of dehydration. Have you tried hand watering her?

Also, have you tried giving her any poly-vi-sol?

I was looking at the merk vet manual & it did mention some respiratory issues that include fluid retention and a stop in laying.

If you hold her chest to your ear, can you hear any rattling?

Here's a link to an approach for treating respiratory issues. I tried all the supplemental/nutritional advice for one of My girls, and it worked like a charm!

Regardless, the tips listed couldn't hurt.

Scroll down to the article in the second post.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=237156

 

[Chicken Boo]

She is sleeping on my lap right now and I do not hear any issues with her breathing. I did not pick up the poly-vi-sol because she was eating. She is still eating in small amounts then sleeping. When she is awake, she is more engaged and looking around, not just sitting there. I just made myself some GatorAde. I am going to put some in her water bowl. If that does not work, I will pick some up tomorrow.

Have a good night and thanks again.

 

[AndreaS]

Sounds at least like she's feeling a bit better!

I think I'd do the poly-vi-sol even if she's eating. The other vitamins in it might help give her more energy and perk her up a bit.

Our high for today was only in the seventies, and we've had sprinkles for the first time in over a month! My girls are in heaven! This heat has been SO hard on them!

Glad to hear Natalie is hanging in there!