New Member from Chicago, IL

[m3torres]

UPDATE DAY 13 since attacked: I was a bit worried because Chocolate was not moving her right wing or right leg since her attack on 10/1/22. She slept with her head low and began gurgling with her breathing. I bathed her in warm water and Epson salt and warm water and salt on Wednesday night. She loved the spa treatment. Her wound on the left side is keeping clean and healing up nicely actually, considering it is so huge (palm size) of torn flesh, keeping clean with veterycin and neosporin. I did notice maggots in the water, maybe less than 2 dozen, none around the wound. So we realized they were from her butt and the poo that sticks cause she's not moving around. I force feed her 3 or 4 tsps of her feed, but all she really takes in is about 4 oz of fluids. Chicken stock, sugar water with salt and baking soda, and fresh water. I think she is pooing good actually. So we wash her after her poo and let her lay. Today I bathed her again, no maggots present, thank goodness. After we fed her and dried her, I elevated her chest and the gurgled breathing stopped, since she pooed, I just changed her bedding and washed her butt. As I was about to lay her back down, I was so happy to feel her move her right leg as she was using it to try to stand.

I've been suggested to find a vet, but none in the area would see her when I looked and called. My daughter did however find a 24/7 Vet ER willing to see her, so that is now an option.

I searched up: maggots, broken bones, gurgled breathing, and mashed food and vitamins on this site last night. I went to sleep with my eyes crossed with so much information. It gave me new added hope for Chocolate. I checked, no broken skin, nor broken bones. A sore butt though with a scab and the flesh healing on her left side.

Here she is tonight sleepy after her spa treatment. It's icy rain today, so we'll keep her chest elevated in our home tonight.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad she's still hanging in there.

Keep check on the maggots, they can damage skin and cause infection.

The gurgling sounds like her crop may not be emptying, so check for that too (first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink).

Can she stand at all? If not, she may be agreeable for you to place her in chicken sling for short periods of monitored time during the day, this may encourage her to move her legs, but she's only 13 days in with severe injury.

 

[m3torres]

I'm glad she's still hanging in there.

Keep check on the maggots, they can damage skin and cause infection.

The gurgling sounds like her crop may not be emptying, so check for that too (first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink).

Can she stand at all? If not, she may be agreeable for you to place her in chicken sling for short periods of monitored time during the day, this may encourage her to move her legs, but she's only 13 days in with severe injury.

Ooo, a chicken sling sounds like fun, I'll have to research it.

Also, I'll have to research how to check her crop.

She's currently not standing at all. I wonder if I did her harm when she first got hurt cause I bandaged her legs as well as her body with the aloe vera slices and towels. I didn't let her body move. I was so scared for her at that moment.
Matt, my son says her wing should be fine because she flaps it when we try to handle her.

Thank you for checking in. I am grateful for the advice.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ooo, a chicken sling sounds like fun, I'll have to research it.

Also, I'll have to research how to check her crop.

She's currently not standing at all. I wonder if I did her harm when she first got hurt cause I bandaged her legs as well as her body with the aloe vera slices and towels. I didn't let her body move. I was so scared for her at that moment.
Matt, my son says her wing should be fine because she flaps it when we try to handle her.

Thank you for checking in. I am grateful for the advice.

Crop is on the right side of the breast. It's like a pouch that holds food/water.
Gurgling could be the crop is not emptying, could possibly be from immobility.

She likely needs more food/water, but if the crop is not emptying, then this will be a challenge. You can try tube feeding her if you find that she's not able to eat/drink on her own. Some folks tube baby bird formula for a short period of time to give them nutrition and it's easier to tube than ground up chicken feed. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

 

[m3torres]

Crop is on the right side of the breast. It's like a pouch that holds food/water.
Gurgling could be the crop is not emptying, could possibly be from immobility.

She likely needs more food/water, but if the crop is not emptying, then this will be a challenge. You can try tube feeding her if you find that she's not able to eat/drink on her own. Some folks tube baby bird formula for a short period of time to give them nutrition and it's easier to tube than ground up chicken feed.

Crop is on the right side of the breast. It's like a pouch that holds food/water.
Gurgling could be the crop is not emptying, could possibly be from immobility.

She likely needs more food/water, but if the crop is not emptying, then this will be a challenge. You can try tube feeding her if you find that she's not able to eat/drink on her own. Some folks tube baby bird formula for a short period of time to give them nutrition and it's easier to tube than ground up chicken feed. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

Checked her this morning and she has a squishy crop. You could feel the liquid and grains inside.

I haven't figured out the sling yet, instead it looks more like a hammock. Just a t-shirt over a Rubbermaid container and her lying on it. I took her for a while on my lap to examine and identified the crop. My mom says to give her crushed garlic and diced raw nopales (cacti). I go out to work during the week and don't want to leave the house though.

She likes me massaging her, but not sure what to do next from home. Just letting her sleep now.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Checked her this morning and she has a squishy crop. You could feel the liquid and grains inside.

I haven't figured out the sling yet, instead it looks more like a hammock. Just a t-shirt over a Rubbermaid container and her lying on it. I took her for a while on my lap to examine and identified the crop. My mom says to give her crushed garlic and diced raw nopales (cacti). I go out to work during the week and don't want to leave the house though.

She likes me massaging her, but not sure what to do next from home. Just letting her sleep now.

Her crop may turn sour.
I'd work on hydration and getting wet mushy feed into her. A bit of soft cooked egg would be fine, but I would avoid scratch and whole grains until you can resolve the crop issue.

Everyone has a different method for treating the crop, if the garlic and cacti are your remedy, then see how it goes.

Personally, the methods in the article linked below are the ones that I have utilized for several years with good results.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

 

[m3torres]

Her crop may turn sour.
I'd work on hydration and getting wet mushy feed into her. A bit of soft cooked egg would be fine, but I would avoid scratch and whole grains until you can resolve the crop issue.

Everyone has a different method for treating the crop, if the garlic and cacti are your remedy, then see how it goes.

Personally, the methods in the article linked below are the ones that I have utilized for several years with good results.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

Honestly, those are my uncles methods from when he was on the ranch, he's in his 80's now. I don't know how to pick cacti and the crop supplies I'll have to order on amazon. My son doesn't want to make her vomit if she's pooping ok or he just doesn't want to help me at this point. I left her sleeping all day and she pooped now, i don't know if I should bathe her or leave her alone it's so late.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wouldn't make her vomit, you risk her aspirating.

If you are wanting to treat as sour crop and want to use Clotrimazole or Miconazole, both those can be found in stores like CVS, Walmart, Dollar General, etc.

If she's soiled and you have a maggot problem, then cleaning her up would be a good idea.

 

[m3torres]

Ok, her sour crop is gone, it just emptied out by Sunday morning. I gave her water and a soft boiled egg on Sunday. She ate the egg on her own, no need to force feed. She's ate on her own since. Today, after the egg, I came home to find my son gave her a hot dog. Finally figured out a sling from an image you posted on someone else's comment. All of a sudden she's feeling brave to try to jump out. She's not staying still in the sling. It's only been like 10 to 15 minutes, so I'm gonna take her off soon. She can move her right side, we caught her moving her wing and wiggling her foot. That is good. Continued thank yous for your guidance.

Here's some updated pictures. 1) front view 2) view of her legs dangling 3) top view 4) her thinking she is ready to fly like an eagle

 

[m3torres]

I put Chocolate in the sling last week and she kept trying to fly out. She was finally eating on her own, but think she got re-hurt. She stopped eating. Her crest started fading. We finally went to the VET ER and had her reviewed. They believed that the wound was too great and she could have sepsis or septic and develope organ failure. They tried to add an IV in 3 different locations (her leg, the joint of a wing, and in a vein on the opposite wing) but they had a hard time. Said her blood pressure was low and one of her veins burst. They were just trying to get fluids into her. In the end it was not economically feasible. $2k if we left her in the hospital and then have her delivered to an exotic animal expert at another location. We felt that she was starving and in pain and asked to euthanize her. My daughter and I just cried and cried. We brought her back home to be burried with the rest of her sisters. She was our last of 5 hens in the last 5 years. She was very kind and friendly and the quiet giant protector of her sisters. My daughter and I were talking in a different room saying she was a fighter not knowing that she put up a fight with the last shot. The vet said it was like she gave them the finger before she passed . We are a family of laughter and that just made us laugh hard. Well she is at peace. She she began to sleep with the first shot she kept pecking and tapping her beak like she was dreaming of a big juicy worm or a nice steak. Told her my husband also dreams of a big juicy steak and we began to laugh.

We are sad, but happy she's not hurting anymore. It was 3 weeks.