I noticed one of my girls isolating herself from the others and although still eating and laying something was clearly wrong. When I noticed her comb become significantly pale I decided to take her to see a vet.
Finding a vet that will see a chicken is a challenge. After many, many phone calls I got an appointment with Nova Pet Health Center in Chantilly, VA, about 45 minutes from my house. Dr. Masood said he used to have chickens himself and was awesome with 'Little Black'. Upon examination he recommended an X-ray to determine what was wrong with her as he suspected something in her gizzard.
Wow - well there sure was - the X-ray showed a gizzard full of screws and staples. I thought I was so careful in constructing my run - lesson learned, take a magnet sweeper to it after.
Dr. Masood said he would be willing to do the surgery to remove the screws. This was a big deal because it is not easy to find a vet that will do this. I think he offered because he has a fondness for chickens and understood I really didn't have many other options.
Although you do have to draw the line on how much you are willing to spend for a chicken, these are my pets so I decided to do it. I will note that the Dr. was sympathetic to this and allowed me to pay what I could. I know this sounds like a testimonial but I am just so grateful that I wanted to share.
The surgery was successful and my girl is back home. A bit stressful as I should have read up on reintroducing her to the coop beforehand as the other girls were a bit mean. A few hours later all is well and I think she has found her place again and I have a souvenir cup with nine screws and two staples in it.
I'm new to chicken ownership so I'm pleased that I was able to tell something was wrong. Hope no one else has this situation but wanted to share just in case.
Post surgery - Little Black recovering
Finding a vet that will see a chicken is a challenge. After many, many phone calls I got an appointment with Nova Pet Health Center in Chantilly, VA, about 45 minutes from my house. Dr. Masood said he used to have chickens himself and was awesome with 'Little Black'. Upon examination he recommended an X-ray to determine what was wrong with her as he suspected something in her gizzard.
Wow - well there sure was - the X-ray showed a gizzard full of screws and staples. I thought I was so careful in constructing my run - lesson learned, take a magnet sweeper to it after.
Dr. Masood said he would be willing to do the surgery to remove the screws. This was a big deal because it is not easy to find a vet that will do this. I think he offered because he has a fondness for chickens and understood I really didn't have many other options.
Although you do have to draw the line on how much you are willing to spend for a chicken, these are my pets so I decided to do it. I will note that the Dr. was sympathetic to this and allowed me to pay what I could. I know this sounds like a testimonial but I am just so grateful that I wanted to share.
The surgery was successful and my girl is back home. A bit stressful as I should have read up on reintroducing her to the coop beforehand as the other girls were a bit mean. A few hours later all is well and I think she has found her place again and I have a souvenir cup with nine screws and two staples in it.
I'm new to chicken ownership so I'm pleased that I was able to tell something was wrong. Hope no one else has this situation but wanted to share just in case.
Post surgery - Little Black recovering
