MJ's little flock

[BY Bob]

I didn't dare say anything but I was very worried about Mary this morning and thought she was going to die while I was at work.

I've come home from the office early (will crack on with work in a tick) and found she's much better than she was this morning. And she's laid a normalish looking egg. Still a little more elongated than her usual shape, but there are no bands of thick shell on it, whereas all of Mary's previous eggs from this season had bands of thick shell.

I took this photo a moment ago and it shows her joining in a preening party with no apparent discomfort.

View attachment 3252381

How scary. I'm so glad she is doing better.

 

[BY Bob]

Tonight the hens' water is dosed with the probiotics @LozzyR recommended. I'm hoping it helps Janet, and does no harm to Peggy and Ivy. It'll be useless for Mary until her clavulox course is over (Monday morning I think). Because of Mary's treatment regime, I'll keep the probiotics going for a month or less if I see negative effects.

This feels like a solid strategy to me.

 

[LozzyR]

Oh ok! I didn't know that was an unknown.

I said to Dr Graham that I was putting probiotics in the water but would stop whilst I was administering antibiotics, and that's when he said that it wasn't definitive that using probiotics together with antibiotics was pointless.

 

[Grammy60]

Good morning/evening MJ and everyone

 

[MaryJanet]

@RoyalChick here's the first blossom on the peacharine.

 

[RoyalChick]

@RoyalChick here's the first blossom on the peacharine.

View attachment 3253486

Gorgeous

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks

 

[MaryJanet]

Mary's condition worsened yesterday. When I took her for her injection, the nurse made a special note on her file and today Mark will take a second look at her crop, which should be much better by now. I imagine her slow crop made her hungry, so she's been packing anything she can find into her beak, worsening her crop situation.

On the other hand, her abdominal swelling is clearing and an even more normal egg was laid yesterday, quite like her eggs from prior seasons: smooth and shaped quite like a golf ball.

I am considering opting her in for a hysterectomy once this season's laying is over. Just thinking it over. It seems commencing this season's laying caused her quite a lot of illness. I'd like to avoid that in future. On the other hand, a hysterectomy is a radical intervention.

What would you do?

 

[Shadrach]

Mary's condition worsened yesterday. When I took her for her injection, the nurse made a special note on her file and today Mark will take a second look at her crop, which should be much better by now. I imagine her slow crop made her hungry, so she's been packing anything she can find into her beak, worsening her crop situation.

On the other hand, her abdominal swelling is clearing and an even more normal egg was laid yesterday, quite like her eggs from prior seasons: smooth and shaped quite like a golf ball.

I am considering opting her in for a hysterectomy once this season's laying is over. Just thinking it over. It seems commencing this season's laying caused her quite a lot of illness. I'd like to avoid that in future. On the other hand, a hysterectomy is a radical intervention.

What would you do?

If you can afford the procedure and the prognosis is good then go for the hysterectomy. It should mean no more antibiotics for EYP and given the problems they seem to cause this can only be a good thing imo.

 

[LozzyR]

If you can afford the procedure and the prognosis is good then go for the hysterectomy. It should mean no more antibiotics for EYP and given the problems they seem to cause this can only be a good thing imo.

I agree with Shad and given that you already know Dr Mark is a skilled avian surgeon, he sounds like the best person for the (difficult) job.