Putting a chicken on its back?

[shell3]

Hi, my chicken is unwell again ( thread about sour crop, that's my Bombie) anyway I'm having trouble getting her to take meds from the syringe but she relaxes when I lay her on her back, is it ok to drip meds in her mouth while she's on her back? Any advice will be very gratefully received! Thank you shell x

 

[flappinhappy]

no it is possible to drown her on the meds. I have to med parrots and the occasional chicken. Just tuck her under you arm like a football and with that same hand reach up and push up on her upper beak stuff the syringe into her beak and giver her the meds if it is a small amount do it all at once if more you will have to repeat this until done. try not to give more than 1/3 a cc at a time as you will waste meds and she cant "hold" that much liquid without it running out.

 

[shell3]

Flapinhappy: thank you, that's what I was worried about and now you have confirmed my fear I will never do that again! Thank goodness I was lucky last time,it didn't occur to me til after! But I dripped it really slowly and she was swallowing each drip but to think it could of gone into a lung! Stupid thing I did there I will try your way, before I was holding her like a football as you suggested but just dripping it at the corner of her mouth so ill try pushing the top beak up but she's very fidgety! I'm not complaining thou as that means she's not feeling to ill.

 

[shell3]

Also her feathers are a bit ....... Well, how to describe? Not dirty but not soft and preened as usual so I'm thinking she's not cleaning herself, should I try to wash her? If so how do I go about it?

 

[RedheadErin]

As for the meds, go to the vet (or a friend who works in a hospital) and tell them you need an IV catheter. IV needles come with a metal needle inside a plastic tube. When someone starts and IV, they use the needle to pierce the kin and the vein, then the pull it out and leave a flexible plastic tube behind. That tube is what you want. Put it on the end of the syringe and then you can slip the other end to the tube into her mouth, at the corner of her beak. You might pull on her waddles a little to get her to open up. Once you have the tube in her mouth, you can slowly empty the syringe. I have used this method a few times and it works like a charm.

 

[shell3]

Weird thing happened! I went out for a couple of hours, bombies upstairs in an indoor cage for the moment, when I got in I went to check on her and she's laid two eggs! Both paper thin shells one had burst open thou I don't know if she'd sat on it. I've crushed some egg shells and given her that in the cage for calcium but could there be something wrong that I'm missing? I thought this was the beginning of sour crop again. Her crop is big and feels fluidy , can't smell anything but didn't last time til I emptied the crop which I've not done this time as I've caught this early. I want to avoid emptying it if possible as it scares me doing it, unless anyone thinks I should be doing it?

 

[flappinhappy]

I wouldn't empty it and yes she probably needs added calcium. With hold feed over the evening and into the morning if her crop isn't empty. Make sure she has water available sometimes it is just a slow down do to the stress of laying..