Need to Tube Severely Molting Hen

[micstrachan]

There was a real poop in Ester’s crate this morning!

Here’s our little patient. Don’t mind the nasty-looking window. That foggy stuff is growing BETWEEN the panes and we are renters, so it stays. Anyway, look at this poor little pin cushion right after I fed her:

And here is a clip of the feeding itself:

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

There was a real poop in Ester’s crate this morning!
View attachment 2473797

Here’s our little patient. Don’t mind the nasty-looking window. That foggy stuff is growing BETWEEN the panes and we are renters, so it stays. Anyway, look at this poor little pin cushion right after I fed her:

And here is a clip of the feeding itself:

She's looking great! Apart from the pin feathers of course, but I noticed that some on her back are breaking open.

You are both doing really well. I have never been so happy to see chicken poop!

 

[micstrachan]

Haha! Same here. I have some cute videos of her from last night. She decided to roost on top of her crate where there is a comfy towel and she can get nice and close to the heat lamp. Sweet baby. I'm working from home today, so I won't be on BYC much until this evening. I'm so glad to be here to be able to tube her today, though. She's still not drinking and is only eating meal worms on her own. More real poop this morning, though.

 

[casportpony]

Congrats on mastering tube feeding! Has she passed any cecal poop yet?

 

[micstrachan]

Congrats on mastering tube feeding! Has she passed any cecal poop yet?

Thanks, Kathy! She’s been fed twice today and I’ll do it again soon. The little sweetheart is sooo good about it. When she knows it’s time, she starts sort of “smacking her lips,” even though she has a beak. LOL. Then she stands there and allows me to drape the towel over her back and wings, and gently tuck it around her. A couple tries last night she screamed, but I suspect that’s because her head and neck are molting too, now.

YES, there was a definite cecal poop last night before bed. Why is that important? Also, last night she had a few real poops.

This girl is living in the house right now. I feel so bad for her, but let her out for a bit Saturday and she just self-isolated in the coop shivering, so I brought her back in.

This video of her last night really shows her nakedness:

 

[micstrachan]

Congrats on mastering tube feeding! Has she passed any cecal poop yet?

Kathy, what’s the biggest volume I can safely tube? A bit ago I had 60cc ready to go, but her crop wasn’t empty yet. She started resisting partway through, so I stopped, gave her a break for several minutes, and then finished up.

By the way, I’ve never had a chicken’s crop completely exposed due to molt before, and it’s cool to watch it work!

 

[casportpony]

Kathy, what’s the biggest volume I can safely tube? A bit ago I had 60cc ready to go, but her crop wasn’t empty yet. She started resisting partway through, so I stopped, gave her a break for several minutes, and then finished up.

By the way, I’ve never had a chicken’s crop completely exposed due to molt before, and it’s cool to watch it work!

I adults, max crop volume is said to be 5%. In juveniles, it's more.

 

[micstrachan]

So for Ester, let's say she's dropped a tiny bit of weight since I weighed her and guess she's about 2000 grams. So max is 100 grams, which is equivalent to 100mL and I'm nowhere near overfilling her with 60mL, even if there's a little in her crop, correct?

 

[casportpony]

It's part art, part science and each bird is different. I had a bunch of young peafowl once, four I think, all about the same size. Three of those could tolerate 120 ml, but one could not tolerate more than 90 ml. You absolutely must weigh at least once a day. The has to be done because you must not let her lose weight while tube feeding.

@Overo Mare, can you share your experiences here?

 

[micstrachan]

Ok. I’ll weigh her now.