Texas

[hensfortherapy]

I hear you.  I just took two Ameraucana pullets to the vet--I thought I was going to lose them both.  I was planning on showing them March 1, so separated them from the cockerels and pulled broken feathers about a month ago.  I had them housed in a vegetable garden.  They were most unhappy to be confined.  They'd been free ranging over two acres.  When my new Cochins arrived, one had a little cough (shipping fever) from being shipped in a not very well ventilated shipping box.  She went to the vet and was put on Tylan.  A few days after that trip to the vet, we had that wicked cold front come in and I battened down my coops just a little too tightly....  When I opened it up that morning, I could just feel the warm moist air...  A couple coughed.  Everyone went on Tylan for five days.


One of the Ameraucana pullets had bright yellow urates two days after stopping the Tylan....


Then, the two stupid Ameraucanas decided to eat their hay bedding since they didn't have access to pasture....

I tried a few things to unblock their crops and started them on a prescription of oral Nystatin.  I expected them to be improving by today but they just weren't doing well enough so off to the vet.  Again.


Fortunately the vet is confident they'll recover and taught me how to tube fluid into their crops.  Today I learned a lot about blocked crops and what to do about them.  Did you know that spinach helped unblock crops?  Who would have known!  I thought soft food would be best, but he recommended cracked corn to help break things down and move them along.  Right now, they are sitting in small show cages on bare flooring because they tried to eat their bedding--I tried both shavings and hay.


The two pullets who were the picture of health five weeks ago look like h *ll.  No shows for them.  At this point, I'm just hoping they'll live.

Dumb chickens. Sorry you are going through this. I was looking forward to seeing your chickens in Dripping Springs. They may surprise you and bounce back.
It is always something.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I hear you. I just took two Ameraucana pullets to the vet--I thought I was going to lose them both. I was planning on showing them March 1, so separated them from the cockerels and pulled broken feathers about a month ago. I had them housed in a vegetable garden. They were most unhappy to be confined. They'd been free ranging over two acres. When my new Cochins arrived, one had a little cough (shipping fever) from being shipped in a not very well ventilated shipping box. She went to the vet and was put on Tylan. A few days after that trip to the vet, we had that wicked cold front come in and I battened down my coops just a little too tightly.... When I opened it up that morning, I could just feel the warm moist air... A couple coughed. Everyone went on Tylan for five days.

One of the Ameraucana pullets had bright yellow urates two days after stopping the Tylan....

Then, the two stupid Ameraucanas decided to eat their hay bedding since they didn't have access to pasture....

I tried a few things to unblock their crops and started them on a prescription of oral Nystatin. I expected them to be improving by today but they just weren't doing well enough so off to the vet. Again.

Fortunately the vet is confident they'll recover and taught me how to tube fluid into their crops. Today I learned a lot about blocked crops and what to do about them. Did you know that spinach helped unblock crops? Who would have known! I thought soft food would be best, but he recommended cracked corn to help break things down and move them along. Right now, they are sitting in small show cages on bare flooring because they tried to eat their bedding--I tried both shavings and hay.

The two pullets who were the picture of health five weeks ago look like h *ll. No shows for them. At this point, I'm just hoping they'll live.

It's good the vet is optimistic. You are a good bird mom. I'm sure you will pull them through.

That's the bright side of all this. I'm learning a lot. I like to do my learning from a vet I trust, not from the internet. There's a lot of misinformation floating around the internet. (And a lot of good information, too.) I now have a really good understanding of what to do about a blocked crop (and forcing them to vomit isn't one of them).

Who would have thought a chicken would fill up on hay bedding because there wasn't any pasture????

When I decided to go to a couple of little poultry shows, I learned all about vaccinations for diseases I didn't even know existed.

I've learned a heck of a lot this last month or two, which is surprising since I've had parrots for about 15 years.

I love learning new things. Having to learn because of a problem isn't as fun, but at least you will know what to do next time.

[quoovingmyhens" url="/t/44/texas/23340#post_12862602"]
I'm really glad you are feeling better! I hope today was good!

Thanks. This crud is hanging on. I was warned it would.
I have some exciting news!
I am not suppose to tell anyone yet.

so keep the secret.
My son and his wife are expecting in Sept. I can't wait to meet my grandbaby. My son and daughter-in-law are so excited. Had to skip the hugs cause of being sick, but I'll get plenty soon.
I kept the secret for 3 days that's pretty good.[/QUOTE]
Hope you get back to 100% soon. How exciting to have a grandbaby on the way. My best friend just became a grandpa Jan 8th. He moved from here back to Ohio to be near his family. It was always in the plans to go back but his grandson made it top priority. I'm happy for him even though I miss him terribly.

 

[hensfortherapy]

What? Actually, I might have to end up moving into it!

It is really taking shape.

 

[hensfortherapy]

Th

Thanks. This crud is hanging on. I was warned it would.
I have some exciting news!
I am not suppose to tell anyone yet. so keep the secret.
My son and his wife are expecting in Sept. I can't wait to meet my grandbaby. My son and daughter-in-law are so excited. Had to skip the hugs cause of being sick, but I'll get plenty soon.
I kept the secret for 3 days that's pretty good.

Oh my gosh!! So glad to be the first to congratulate you!
Are they close? My greatest fear is that my girls will meet their prince charmings and they will move far away.
I know they have to go their own way, but being close to my grand kids is my dream.
[/quote]
They are close and want to get closer. I love babies and they know they'll have a sitter.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Awww, chicken and pup are best friends.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Dumb chickens. Sorry you are going through this. I was looking forward to seeing your chickens in Dripping Springs. They may surprise you and bounce back.
It is always something.

I'll be bringing my Cochins. The Ameraucanas have lost so much weight--I'm still worried about them just surviving. Their feathers won't have grown in well with this shock to them--feathers need health and a good diet to grow well, and these two idiots have not been eating well. Dripping Springs is in three weeks, right? They won't look good, even if I can get enough weight on them.

They do look sooooo much better since I started flushing water through their crop and massaging it into their stomach. For the last two mornings, I steeled myself to open the garage door to see if they were still alive. I had no idea chickens did this to themselves. How could I not know???? I've read a lot and still didn't know they did things like eat grass and then get sick and die.

Tomorrow I should be getting my 12 Ameraucana chicks. Hopefully, there will be a nice cockerel to replace the nasty Ameraucana I have.

 

[Effielin]

I am in Los Angelos Heights which is north..close to downtown. I got two buff orpingtons and two gold sex links.

 

[jajeanpierre]

It's good the vet is optimistic. You are a good bird mom. I'm sure you will pull them through.

I love learning new things. Having to learn because of a problem isn't as fun, but at least you will know what to do next time.

The vet was very optimistic.

I put one on the table and he said, "I'm going to teach you something you need to learn," and then taught me how to tube fluid (water) into the crop of a chicken. The way he said it, I got the impression it was something I will be doing many, many more times.

I've read so much on what to do with a blocked crop, and forcing them to vomit was one of the internet solutions but it carries a lot of risk. I was really happy that wasn't what he had in mind. He specifically said that we did not want to force any fluids up the throat, but wanted to gently massage the crop so stuff continued on down the intestinal tract.

I've been really happy with this vet. I've recently moved to the San Antonio area and was dreading looking for an avian vet for my parrots in an emergency.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I'm getting worried about my little chicks that were shipped Tuesday. The last update was made yesterday morning when they left the sort facility near where they were shipped from. They should have arrived in San Antonio yesterday to be on the truck to my local post office now.

My Cochins were shipped yesterday. The breeder hasn't sent me the tracking number yet, so more worry. Worry, worry, worry--it is something I do really well, lol!

 

[lovingmyhens]

I'm getting worried about my little chicks that were shipped Tuesday.  The last update was made yesterday morning when they left the sort facility near where they were shipped from.  They should have arrived in San Antonio yesterday to be on the truck to my local  post office now.

My Cochins were shipped yesterday.  The breeder hasn't sent me the tracking number yet, so more worry.  Worry, worry, worry--it is something I do really well, lol!

Awww I hope everyone arrives safe and sound... Keep us updated