Sour crop

[shell3]

Bogtown chick, good morning/afternoon to you, its 2:30 afternoon here lol. well i dont expect an answer from her soon cos time difference, if at all(if she reads it) but bombie just plain refused the baby food and after no food all night i cant risk her not eating! shes so light! so i mashed the pellets in boiling water so they disolved, cooled and added a tbsp of amino + chicken vet(says vitimins and protein for times of illness and stress so...) and she ate her fair share of that, thou the others helped lol. that was 9:30 this morning and her crop feels comfortably full now at 2:30 so am nervous about giving anymore til i see some movement, will check again at 4 and feed more then. its tempting to overfeed as shes so thin but i cant risk the stretching and blocking! my fingers are crossed for good results.
snow here is melting and were in for rain this weekend so should be warmer next week, chooks are out in the run and i keep feeling their feet to see if they are warm! they are. chickens think i have a crazy foot fettish thou!! lol i was so worried about bad weather but they have proven to be hardy little critters glad yours are behaving themselves funny how all they want is to get out and all we want is to get in!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I'm sure she'll get back to you. She was quite vested in that thread. People love to share their chicken stories, successes, etc. One thing I love about chickens. whether people have them or not, they always make for good strong memories and stories.

I dunno. I've been a worry wart about my Rooster. He's got one toe that is swollen and pale. Almost more prone to the cold or a bit of frostbite that may have occurred Sunday. I've got my own thread running on that and he's got me hoppin' and frettin' here during the cold snap. I think he's going to be okay though, and I'm the lonely only on the that thread just giving my daily updates like its my own diary. LOL. maybe somebody will benefit from it though, someday. Ha.

He's my big baby. Such a good boy.

 

[shell3]

oh i so know that feeling, i feel like its a diary too. though i have looked back on it a couple of times already to remember what ive done, so it helps me and hopefully others at some point . whats your thread called? i like to just go through all sorts, reading stories and learning bits of info for a latter date or to pass onto others if i can, id love to have a read of yours (yes i am quite nosey! lol) but you never know when something you read is gonna save you. i just ordered a book that was rated good on here, its called the chicken health handbook by gail damerow so once that comes i shall have my nose stuck in that no doubt.
im also very in love with all my animals and worry about them tremedously at the first sign of illness, im glad your roosters doing ok hopefully your weather will improve soon and it'll be less of a worry but i think our worry is what saves them sometimes because were always thinking of the next thing to try and never forget a dose of meds! im actually dreaming about chickens in my sleep now!! no i wish i was joking !! lol

 

[Bogtown Chick]

You bet Shell. I love sharing my stuff. And it won't make me feel so lonesome out there in BYC land...ha. Also that's why I'm keeping tabs on yours, because I see my little raggedy birds out there sometimes eating their fluffy hay in their run and I know this could potentially happen to them. I find myself pulling out long strands out of their beaks and throats if they can't quite get them all down. LOL. One less piece of long hay to cause a problem. Can't quit them full stop but, one strand may be their salvation one day. Ha.

Here's my rooster's toe deal. Let me know what you think. I think I've figured him out and now it's just some maintenance stuff for me until we're in the clear with the weather. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...more-prone-to-frost-bite-photos#post_10334109 The rooster in question is the one on my Avatar. My kids call him "Big Tootsie" ironically. Love him to bits.

 

[shell3]

Wow just had a good look at your avatar and roger is a handsome boy isnt he
ive taken hay away from mine now i just cant take the stress! they have woodshavings in the coop and woodchunk and dirt run, grass was gone long time ago so no added worry there. they do eat woodchip here and there bombie esspecially she also eats a far bit of dirt thou so unless i put her in a concrete box theres just no controlling her!lol. well just checked on her and gave her antibiotic and after two largish bowls of very watered down mash today she seems to have a smaller crop than the other two hens, i think they think this mash stuff is a fantastic treat and get as much as they can, fearing they might not get it again for a while! little do they know its all there getting for the foreseeable! lol any way she seems to have got her fair share, with a little help from me acting as rooster! so now im debating one more bowl of mash for bedtime.
Now for something curious... i just ran out to check on her crop situation and there was an egg just lying in the middle of the run floor! well the other two laid this morning and arnt in the habbit of dropping them out in the run, but bombie hasnt laid for a good month at least! my first thought was to check her underneath as i kept thinking i could feel an object there but then next time i couldnt feel anything, the vet felt too and wasnt convinced there was anything there, he said she feels different because shes lost a lot of weight and to be fair i only have the other two to compare, never felt around a chickens underneath before owning my own!lol so really not sure about 'normal'. anyway i can still feel what i thought could be an egg before so thats not changed. so did she lay an egg or not

id love to know but never will. i need a little video camera out there lol. now i anxiously await morning to see if that crop is empty

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Oh an egg for Bombie, you think! That's surely a good sign. Makes you wonder those little sneakers. I'm pretty sure I have two new layers now with this cold snap (because I've had a light on for warmth, I think) but I can't be sure which ones they are. They sneak down in the wee hours. Maybe I'll catch 'em here a few days this weekend on the nest see who they are. You almost gotta be there as they duck into the nest or drop on the floor sometimes. Their so cute in their secretive ways.

Well I'd keep on with that mash. Two weeks seems to be a good amount of time for human healing. And I know it's high maintanence but maybe keep this mash business up for a couple weeks and slowly reintroduce the greens and such. Mine love spinach leaves for their winter greens. You hate to say no to the green stuff because you know it's good for them and it makes for healthy eggs. But yeah...if it's blocking Bombie up-- Hard balancing act for sure....

Thanks for your compliments on "Big Tootsie"

 

[shell3]

thanks im gonna keep the mash going. ill be so nervous with everything i give her from now on! really wish i knew if she laid that egg. i doubt it really but just cant help hope as it would be such a good sign! shes still too thin thou i think? could she even be capable while shes so thin? ijdk!

 

[shell3]

what a lovely morning! decided to give bombie that extra bowl of mash before bed, and woke up to a lovely empty crop! its becoming my favourite thing x she tucked into a nice big warm bowl of more along with her sibblings who seem delighted with this 'new' food. im keeping the mash watery and adding extra suppliment as before but will try to increase volume as long as its moving through smoothly. ipana answered my pm last night with great insight for which im extemely grateful and i feel reasured that im on the right track. she was also really lovely and didnt mind my questions at all. such lovely people on this site x and her hen naomi who suffered from a simular condition is fit and well living a happy chicken life which warms my heart and gives me such hope. its a good day indeed xx

 

[shell3]

bogtown chick; i know you said your using vaseline on rogers foot, well bombies comb is still small and looks quite dry. im hoping as her health improves the comb will follow but for now do you think tring to apply some vaseline is a good idea? just for comfort, i wonder if its causing any discomfort and vaseline could help or if its best just left alone? what do ya think?

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I'm so happy, for Bombie I got little tears pricking my eyes right now!

And how wonderful you've got a reach out from ipana and the good word about Naomi. Oh Whew! I know sometimes we all question our lengths we go to for a chicken and whether we just prolong the suffering sometimes too? Like will they ever get better and am I just interfering with Mother Nature? You know what I'm saying? But hearing somebody else's similar story and that what they did DID make a difference and that the chicken can thrive after a crisis of this sort, because of your intervention. It's really really relieving and helpful don't you think? That's the beauty of BYC .

Don't get me wrong. I think there are times though too, when suffering should be ended as well. Such a fine line on these sometimes. Just my thoughts, out loud, again.

Bombie's Comb: Well I'm sure it will bounce back with the nutrition that is passing now. And I'm sure it's a little frazzled from the stress of all of this-- as we all know, of course. I think the best healing is going to happen within...but I think Vaseline or even a nice Vit E Lotion from your own stock might be helpful and soothing to her comb. I'll tell you, Vaseline works fine and well. I also used it to try to fend off frostbite on Roger's comb but it helped minimally. It will adhere for a while to her comb and then when They dust it makes this super sticky black tar-like mess on the comb and now I've noticed a bit of dinge on the back of Roger's head marring his plumage a bit. It reminds me a bit of those poor birds they had to bathe in the Gulf of Mexico after that horrible oil spill a few years back. (not that extreme of course--but you get the picture) I've tried to spot clean those feathers with Dawn Dish Soap to get out the black mess on his head but it is literally like road tar stuck there. That's been my experience with the Vaseline. Sure it works but combined with a nice dust bath--doesn't make for such a glamorous looking chicken or residue on their feathers. The spot on his head isn't big or affecting how the feathers work to keep his head warm. It just looks a fright and I'm picky about my boy. He's got more of the same on his front hackle feathers from me putting it on his wattles too. I would try some good lotion first if it was me and if you don't have to worry about frostbite. Ahh you're such a good person to Bombie. Bit of bonding time with some lotion on the comb seems called for.





I was reading this online health magazine and a listing of Power foods that help prevent sickness in the winter months. So on and so forth. And thought of Bombie when I read this one:
"Researchers believe GINGER and its compounds improve intestinal muscle tone and help move food through the tract." Of course fresh ginger would be best (maybe grated or pulverized for Bombie

) would be a nice addition to her mash. Maybe you want to make sure she has no more bumps in the road this week first though, too.

Good work Shell 3. I'm so glad you're getting support from ipana too. xx