MJ's little flock

[RoyalChick]

Is there a plan to get rid of the bit of presumed Nickel from her crop? Either surgically or by other means?

I once worked for a Scottish surgeon who had a patient from the local prison who swallowed razor blades and bed springs. By the time he was brought to the hospital it would have been very tricky surgery. The surgeon prescribed porridge. I don’t mean just at meals - the guy had to keep eating porridge until it emerged out the other end.
Apparently it formed clumps around the hardware so protected the lining of the gut while it all moved on down and eventually out.
No sure how that would work with a chicken’s gizzard!

 

[MaryJanet]

Is there a plan to get rid of the bit of presumed Nickel from her crop? Either surgically or by other means?

I once worked for a Scottish surgeon who had a patient from the local prison who swallowed razor blades and bed springs. By the time he was brought to the hospital it would have been very tricky surgery. The surgeon prescribed porridge. I don’t mean just at meals - the guy had to keep eating porridge until it emerged out the other end.
Apparently it formed clumps around the hardware so protected the lining of the gut while it all moved on down and eventually out.
No sure how that would work with a chicken’s gizzard!

Wow!! What a great anecdote.

We had a very brief word about crop surgery if necessary. But she has to be a lot stronger first. With all the opportunity for chats about Katie, I can ask about it.

 

[MaryJanet]

Now I'll be on my way because I must deliver a tiny tasty salad to a very sick little hen unfortunately Christa declined a ride in the cat box, so there are no visitors from the flock today.

 

[MaryJanet]

Katie enjoyed her salad and has enough sass back that she wouldn't let me touch her

She's been transferred from her big box into a big room.

You can just make out her IV tube on the threshold.

And here's a close up of her IV dressing.

One lonely little piece of salmon had been overlooked but not for long!

I've also got a short video, which I'll upload and post once I'm home again.

 

[MaryJanet]

Here's the video of Katie checking to see if there was any extra salmon.

 

[ManueB]

Here's the video of Katie checking to see if there was any extra salmon.

She looks good ! I don't know if she was glad to see you or that you brought the salad but it seems she enjoyed your visit . And it sounds like the people at the practice are really trying to make both the animals and their owners as confortable as possible !

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!

Yes, I think you are both lucky to be in Australia and also a very dedicated chicken keeper to be able to give your chickens that level of health care. Not everyone would do that even if they could.

I'm grateful for the information that can be found online because sometimes it is very helpful for basic first care. But I totally agree with you that for anything that requires a not so obvious diagnosis, vets are necessary.

I think money is only one aspect of the problem ; many people don't even have access to vets that will see chickens, even if they are willing/ have the possibility to pay. But I guess the need for chicken vets is a recent thing as is keeping chickens as pets ; and maybe more vets will get the necessary training as it becomes a more frequent demand.

I wish we had vets closer to where we live. I felt really bad when the first chicken we took to the vet, Caramel, died after days of hospitalisation. If the clinic had been closer we could maybe have driven her back home before she was operated. Now we are afraid to take chickens to the vet if it looks like they may not make it, because it's important to us that they die at home.
If there was something around here like @ChicoryBlue experienced, a mobile vet truck with equipment that visit rural places, I would definitely be willing to pay whatever they'd ask and save on any not totally necessary personal expenses.

 

[MaryJanet]

She looks good ! I don't know if she was glad to see you or that you brought the salad but it seems she enjoyed your visit . And it sounds like the people at the practice are really trying to make both the animals and their owners as confortable as possible !

She definitely enjoyed her salad I hope her food starts to pass through as solids soon. Her poops were still mostly water, so her gut was still inflamed yesterday morning. But she'd only had one day of chelation and she was prescribed five days, so it had not had time to work yet.

I've had this morning's call already but it was so early I missed it. Dr Marika said she's doing well today and that she would call again this afternoon.

It's good to know we are both in good hands!

Yes, I think you are both lucky to be in Australia and also a very dedicated chicken keeper to be able to give your chickens that level of health care. Not everyone would do that even if they could.

No, but many people keep chickens as livestock. I keep them as pets and that comes with responsibility for their health and well-being that I take seriously.

I have almost no meaningful experience of chicken sickness, so that responsibility converts quickly into relying on experts. It helps that I also have the humility to admit my almost complete lack of knowledge!

Also it seems I'm utterly incapable of correctly diagnosing chickens other than "that's not right, she must be sick." If I try to guess at anything else, I'm wrong every single time.

I'm grateful for the information that can be found online because sometimes it is very helpful for basic first care. But I totally agree with you that for anything that requires a not so obvious diagnosis, vets are necessary.

That's a good point. I might recognise bumble foot if I saw it. And I'd know a wound if I saw it too.

I think money is only one aspect of the problem ; many people don't even have access to vets that will see chickens, even if they are willing/ have the possibility to pay. But I guess the need for chicken vets is a recent thing as is keeping chickens as pets ; and maybe more vets will get the necessary training as it becomes a more frequent demand.

I think so yes. And of course, it's not financially possible for a vet to set up a practice if there are not enough clients. I'm pretty sure people have always kept backyard flocks in Adelaide and for a long time it was a city of very low cost of living and excellent opportunity for people wanting to work in one of the professions or trades. That might be a factor in the presence of so many exotic or avian specialist vets: if there's always been clientele, it makes sense that there are vets to meet the demand - as long as the costs of setting up a practice are not too high.

I wish we had vets closer to where we live. I felt really bad when the first chicken we took to the vet, Caramel, died after days of hospitalisation. If the clinic had been closer we could maybe have driven her back home before she was operated. Now we are afraid to take chickens to the vet if it looks like they may not make it, because it's important to us that they die at home.

Yes, I see your point. I don't recall whether she was euthanized or whether she died naturally, but either way it wasn't among friends.

I really appreciate that the new vet is willing to keep a sick hen's friend in hospital for company. That a real kindness to birds.

If there was something around here like @ChicoryBlue experienced, a mobile vet truck with equipment that visit rural places, I would definitely be willing to pay whatever they'd ask and save on any not totally necessary personal expenses.

Yes, that would be amazing for you! And for so many other people.

 

[RoyalChick]

She looks good ! I don't know if she was glad to see you or that you brought the salad but it seems she enjoyed your visit . And it sounds like the people at the practice are really trying to make both the animals and their owners as confortable as possible !

Yes, I think you are both lucky to be in Australia and also a very dedicated chicken keeper to be able to give your chickens that level of health care. Not everyone would do that even if they could.

I'm grateful for the information that can be found online because sometimes it is very helpful for basic first care. But I totally agree with you that for anything that requires a not so obvious diagnosis, vets are necessary.

I think money is only one aspect of the problem ; many people don't even have access to vets that will see chickens, even if they are willing/ have the possibility to pay. But I guess the need for chicken vets is a recent thing as is keeping chickens as pets ; and maybe more vets will get the necessary training as it becomes a more frequent demand.

I wish we had vets closer to where we live. I felt really bad when the first chicken we took to the vet, Caramel, died after days of hospitalisation. If the clinic had been closer we could maybe have driven her back home before she was operated. Now we are afraid to take chickens to the vet if it looks like they may not make it, because it's important to us that they die at home.
If there was something around here like @ChicoryBlue experienced, a mobile vet truck with equipment that visit rural places, I would definitely be willing to pay whatever they'd ask and save on any not totally necessary personal expenses.

I would love a mobile vet. I am in driving distance of an exotic animal vet who I quite like (no specific chicken experience but so far she has been helpful). But I feel like the journey is a bit stressful for me and the chickens (though actually the chickens seem quite interesting car rides, so maybe the stress is all mine!).

 

[MaryJanet]

I would love a mobile vet. I am in driving distance of an exotic animal vet who I quite like (no specific chicken experience but so far she has been helpful). But I feel like the journey is a bit stressful for me and the chickens (though actually the chickens seem quite interesting car rides, so maybe the stress is all mine!).

I've noticed how much the hens enjoy a car ride. They're almost like dogs!

 

[MaryJanet]

Christa can almost reach the pink flowers...

She needs to climb just a little higher.