Well todays a new day! woke up and went straight out to check on bombie, crop still bloated but reduced a little so hopefully some nutritions getting through. comb is dull again and droopy.
went to see the vet. he emptied the crop best he could but liquid in there was very thick and gloopy and full of darn feathers! he did what ghe could but couldnt empty it completely as she was starting to choke, so i was quite disapointed not to be starting from scratch but must soldier on. he has given more antibiotics. he also said she may pass some feathers but has fitted her with a collar to stop her plucking. so the only feathers she'll have access to is the ones that fall naturally, at least thats an improvement. she is not happy with the collar but im hoping she'll get used to it. i have given her water with electolights and a bowl of watery mash, she ate, had a drink with no problem, i did hook bowls up on the side so she could better reach them.
she was indoors in a cage but kept thrashing about because of the collar, i feared she would do herself serious injury in a small space so i have put her outside in the mini run which lets her have more space and be with the others, albeit on the other side of wire but at least she can see them. after eating the crop is hanging down low and feels very full , i will try to maggase as much as pos today but i think this crop is gonna need a second attempt at being emptied!! im becoming really scared of doing it now as she knows whats coming and struggles! no point in trying a tube as feathers are not gonna come out that way so just have to keep trying, my worst fear is that ill kill her while trying to get the stuff outa there. however if it stays in there shes gonna starve to death so i must try. it worries me that the vet couldnt empty it cos then i think 'what hope do i have' but no were being positive today!
today shes outside and i will give small meals of runny soft foods and massages and see what tomorrow brings, plan is if its still full tomorrow to try again to empty and then back to small soft meals. looks like that might be my daily plan until she finally brings up whats blocking her. i dont have any other ideas ! i have ordered the copper sulphate which is meant to inhibit fungus as far as i can tell so i may add some of that to water or food. but vet agreed that its not sour at present anyway which means its blocked!! im thinking about surgery as a last resort to clear the crop if shes starting to stave to death but i dont know if its worth the risk as she only has to pick something else up and then we'll be back to square one! hubby is helping redesign the coop and run this weekend (he's got off work specially
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so its getting a roof and a new coop, smaller than previously planed but still much larger than what they have now. and i think im gonna try and rake out all the wood chunks from the floor of the run so they are back to just dirt floor, this was a problem before because of rain pooling and causing boggy run, but with the new roof we should be good with dirt. hopefully this will go some way to stop this problem reoccuring in the future.
