MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

I've picked out one of her baby photos to share.

It's from her quail phase

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm home again and Katie's in hospital for a few days.

She has either zinc or lead toxicity, but the images indicate zinc.

She's having chelation therapy for five days with crop feeds, hard food, and IV liquids because her kidneys are not functioning very well.

The chelation therapy is calcium edt. Or maybe she said calcium edta. I don't quite remember.

If the chelation works like a charm, it'll confirm zinc.if it works but not quite as well, it'll confirm lead.

If it's lead, I'll get the soil tested and remediated.

The hospital part of the practice is very impressive! I was allowed to visit her. She had her IV in and was a bit down.

I'm allowed to visit any time as long as I give prior notice so they can accommodate me. So I've booked in for tomorrow morning at 10.30 and I may take Christa with me to say hi. And I'll take a few pieces of tomato. She's allowed to have a friend stay with her in hospital and Christa is her bestie at this time, but I imagine Christa would pull out her IV. I imagine all of the hens would actually. So she'll have to soldier on solo for the time being.

Goodness!
Did X-ray show any hardware? I remember Maggie had a collection of screws and a washer inside when she was X-rayed.

 

[MaryJanet]

Goodness!
Did X-ray show any hardware? I remember Maggie had a collection of screws and a washer inside when she was X-rayed.

There was a black area suspected of being a little piece of zinc. And lots of grains of sand and grit lit up in her crop and lower gut when they should be passing through with the poop. It's all causing irritation and gas.

But there were no discernable pieces of hardware like screws or nails or washers.

 

[Grammy60]

I'm home again and Katie's in hospital for a few days.

She has either zinc or lead toxicity, but the images indicate zinc.

She's having chelation therapy for five days with crop feeds, hard food, and IV liquids because her kidneys are not functioning very well.

The chelation therapy is calcium edt. Or maybe she said calcium edta. I don't quite remember.

If the chelation works like a charm, it'll confirm zinc.if it works but not quite as well, it'll confirm lead.

If it's lead, I'll get the soil tested and remediated.

The hospital part of the practice is very impressive! I was allowed to visit her. She had her IV in and was a bit down.

I'm allowed to visit any time as long as I give prior notice so they can accommodate me. So I've booked in for tomorrow morning at 10.30 and I may take Christa with me to say hi. And I'll take a few pieces of tomato. She's allowed to have a friend stay with her in hospital and Christa is her bestie at this time, but I imagine Christa would pull out her IV. I imagine all of the hens would actually. So she'll have to soldier on solo for the time being.

Keeping Katie and you in my thoughts and prayers

 

[MaryJanet]

Keeping Katie and you in my thoughts and prayers

Oh thank you Grammy. That's very kind.

By the way, is Bob's bathroom all finished now?

 

[Grammy60]

Oh thank you Grammy. That's very kind.

By the way, is Bob's bathroom all finished now?

oh my goodness, of course not, he's too busy doing everything but the bathroom. For over a week, he didn't call or anything, apparently he hurt his back. He also says every day that it will be done today, but it never is or even close
I wish we had the money to just hire somebody else to finish it up

 

[MaryJanet]

oh my goodness, of course not, he's too busy doing everything but the bathroom. For over a week, he didn't call or anything, apparently he hurt his back. He also says every day that it will be done today, but it never is or even close
I wish we had the money to just hire somebody else to finish it up

That is not OK! Staggeringly unprofessional.

 

[RoyalChick]

oh my goodness, of course not, he's too busy doing everything but the bathroom. For over a week, he didn't call or anything, apparently he hurt his back. He also says every day that it will be done today, but it never is or even close
I wish we had the money to just hire somebody else to finish it up

That’s horrible!

 

[MaryJanet]

I was just reflecting on my experiences with chicken health and veterinary practice.

It always goes like this

1. I notice symptoms and make a guess based on reading and an appointment.
2. At the appointment, my guess is proven wrong. This always happens. I thought Katie was egg bound, then I was sure she had leukosis. Neither were true.
3. I'm relieved I never tried any online remedies because at best it would have unnecessarily stressed an already sick bird and at worst it would have caused harm.
4. The two vets I've worked with have taken different courses of action: Dr Mark almost always diagnosed bacterial overload at first glance, whereas Dr Jing tested poop and did crop cytology before confirming bacterial overload. Both vets said to come back later if she doesn't go back to normal.
5. If necessary, we go back later.
6. Images indicate the cause of the bacterial overload.
7. Targetted treatment or exploratory surgery commences (in Peggy's case surgery revealed her fractured liver and in Mary's case it revealed her hernia).
8. I relax knowing the full details and that the hen is getting what she urgently needs to prevent her death.
9. The hen comes home and I carefully follow post-treatment instructions.

I really can't recommend strongly enough the guidance of experts who can call to mind years and years of formal education, supervised training, and professional practice while making use of all the technology available to their field.

I'm fully aware and grateful that I have the privilege to work full-time, earning sufficient money to provide adequate veterinary support for all the hens and Blossom. That said, I got to this comfy stage of life over many, many, many years of taking up educational opportunities, focus, dedication, humility, and authentic learning, in both formal and professional settings. So I have actually earned it for myself. The privilege part comes from having been born an Aussie which automatically bestowed a literal wealth of opportunities, including an apparent abundance of exotic species vets!

 

[MaryJanet]

The new vet is extremely good at taking care of the human's emotional needs! I'm getting two update phone calls daily. Dr Marika is the vet caring for Katie at present because it's Dr Jing's weekend off. She said Katie is drinking loads and eating with gusto but her digestive system is still on the fritz (as my dad used to say ).

Overnight, I had managed to make myself worried about another patient in the hospital called Seth, who's a really gorgeous boa constrictor. I thought he would smell Katie, squeeze out of his box and into her box, but he didn't and then Dr Marika explained the scents from the boxes are extracted out the back of the box and up, out of the building by a big extractor! Fresh air comes into the front of the boxes. So Seth can't even smell her and she can't smell him. Dr Marika also OK'ed the tiny salad I've made for Katie's treat (tomato, lettuce, 4 pinches of wholemeal bread with seeds baked in, and some flakes of salmon).