Hey chicken people, need some advice. One of my hens got caught on some wire that essential skewered her crop. It happened in the evening, so it was super full, and the wound was enough that her food was essentially spilling out. The GOOD NEWS is I was able to take her to my family vet who, despite not specializing in chicken care (thought they do take care of large livestock), was kind enough to clean her up and sew her up.
She is hopefully on the mend, its up to her to recover now BUT my concern is what to feed her? Because there was so much damage to her crop - tears on both sides of it - I'm feeling like I should only give very soft/mushy things to eat so that the crop doesn't have to work too hard.
Am I wrong here, and she should be able to eat her pellets (and occasional birdseed snacks) with no issue?
And if softer foods ARE a good idea, how long should I stick with them, and what are some good options? I mashed up her pellets with some water (most of my chickens like this) but she was totally uninterested. I boiled and mashed some potatoes for her and she liked that.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!!
She is hopefully on the mend, its up to her to recover now BUT my concern is what to feed her? Because there was so much damage to her crop - tears on both sides of it - I'm feeling like I should only give very soft/mushy things to eat so that the crop doesn't have to work too hard.
Am I wrong here, and she should be able to eat her pellets (and occasional birdseed snacks) with no issue?
And if softer foods ARE a good idea, how long should I stick with them, and what are some good options? I mashed up her pellets with some water (most of my chickens like this) but she was totally uninterested. I boiled and mashed some potatoes for her and she liked that.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!!
