The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[speckledhen]

Poor girl I wonder if she has a blockage in there, something that's keeping the food from passing, or only allowing a little to pass. Long grass can do that, or long pieces of hay, or twine, etc. It gets stuck in there and makes a blockage. Most times it has to be physically removed. I've seen people do crop surgery for such a thing, but honestly that's not something I would attempt.

We have been on that same thought pattern, a blockage, though we cannot feel anything. We've done three crop surgeries, but, though we were able to clear the crop, it was not grass or any actual blockage. The muscles just quit working due to some internal issue. Only Smoky, Dusty's sister, had chronic and advanced pendulous crop and that was what eventually killed her. Two roosters and one other hen we operated on and they came through the surgery just fine, but whatever caused the stasis in the first place killed them soon afterward. Tom does not want to do it again. We've done the yeast meds twice a day since we got them and the sour breath isn't there, but the mass still is.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

So sorry, I wish I had some good advice for you. Sometimes they just don't respond no matter what you do.

 

[speckledhen]

So sorry, I wish I had some good advice for you. Sometimes they just don't respond no matter what you do.

That is very true, Lisa. This is when I wish some knowledgeable folks lived closer, like some vets I respect, to put their hands on her and at least give me an opinion. I don't trust just anyone, but you probably already know that.

Tonight, I found some boxes of baby oatmeal cereal at Big Lots with apples and bananas in it for 50 cents a box so I figured I'd try that for her. Maybe the flavor will lure her and the consistency will be good for the purpose. She just won't eat anything, but at least showed a tiny bit of interest in the applesauce I made.

I'm almost resigned to losing her, though I won't quit trying to save her. I will have to hatch this spring is I lose her. Bash needs more hens, not fewer. If I have more girls than I want to put in his pen, I can put the extra pullets in with either BR rooster or just one of the old lady groups to "hold" them until I need them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

There are no vets around here that will see chickens either. Most of the posts I read where people took their chicken to a vet didn't end well. I always hate not knowing too what is going on. I get attached to most of mine too, even though I try not to. Keep trying, I always do.

 

[speckledhen]

There is a guy about 15 miles from us who they say will see a chicken. At one time, we took our dogs to him. Dogs are just different. I'm not sure I'd trust him with my birds, not unless he has chickens himself and knows them well. Vets who have chickens are a step up from your average vet. I'd love to have had Ladyhawk's vet in KY. He was so awesome, never charged her his fat prices, said he made enough on the Derby horse owners. Such a caring, honest vet. He once stitched up Lancelot when he tangled with a fox. The fox probably got the worst of it, knowing Lancelot. That darn rooster. Once, he killed a stray cat. If you have a rooster like Lance, you really need a good vet, LOL.

I will keep trying. I just love those Brahmas. I was feeling awful this a.m. about Betsy and all the crud going on lately and I went in to pet Hector for comfort. Well, Hector is no Zane. He is fine if you rub his chest and back, but if your arms go around him, he gets really fidgety. Then, if he thinks you're going to actually hold him or pick him up, he wants outta there! So, I went to Bash's pen. He was sitting on one of those wide roost shelves and looked up at me. I said, "I bet you'll let me hug you, won't you?". He sat so still, let me wrap my arms around him, put my face next to his. He is just so sweet and calm. And he's quite the armload of rooster, too. Now, Hector is good, don't get me wrong, but cuddly is not his middle name. Bash is just what you need, like a living stuffed animal, LOL. Atlas is somewhere in the middle. He's calmer than Hector and he will stiffen a bit if he thinks I'm going to pick him up, but he's a sweetheart when I talk softly to him. Some days, you just need to hug a chicken. And for some reason, I gravitate toward my roosters. I know, I'm insane.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have hugged plenty of critters in my life, no judgement here. I find more comfort in animals most times over people. No need to explain myself to them.

 

[speckledhen]

Tried the baby oatmeal with pureed apples and bananas. It's pre-cooked, just add liquid, really powdered out of the box. So, I warmed up some of dad's mushy canned apples with a lot of the juice they're in and used that, added a touch of cinnamon. We used a syringe to get some into her mouth to give her the taste of it. She is actually eating it little by little. The only downside to the cereal is that is does have some iron in it, but is for a 6 month old baby, plus watering it down with a lot of applesauce/juice would lower the iron content more. She still has the doughy mass in her crop and we're pushing stuff back and through. If we had not discovered her problem, she'd already be gone. She is still in serious danger.
Guess I should be putting this on the Brahma thread rather than the Atlas thread. But, since I'm talking about birds with issues, among the BRs, Zara is a naked bird with a million porcupine quills. Lizzie is still slowly on the mend. Tessa is not happy in the least being put in the pen with her bossy sister, but if I let her stay with Atlas, she harasses MaryJo too much. So, for now, she gets to keep Liz company and be harassed herself. But, they have an entire 5x8 pen all to themselves. She won't even roost on the 5' bar with Lizzie-she sits on top of the file cabinet nest box.

oh, my little smiley is back now! I used to use this first one all the time and others have returned, too! Was that last one gone? I don't remember.

 

[speckledhen]

Betsy ate every bit of the baby cereal I gave her! And when I put a tablespoon of chopped eggs in the bowl, she began picking at that, too. That's a change. She was refusing food the last two days. We'll let her rest, then do some more massage. I'm still looking for some actual solid poop in the cage, which will let me know something is getting through her system.

 

[kitkat5505]

That’s great she ate some food! Hopefully that gives her some energy to keep fighting through.

 

[speckledhen]

We let her out with her sisters and kept Bash in with Cora. She had quite a bit of energy, even bossing a few of the others around. I'm not sure I should get my hopes up, after seeing dying hens on the edge of holes we were digging, just hoping to grab some grubs even though they could barely stand. But, she's not a goner yet anyway.