OneFowlMama
Chirping
Before I get started I'd like to spoil the ending here because if you've found this post you're probably a Mama (or Papa) in the middle of a freak out just like I was. My 5 week old girl Lil Peep has made a full recovery this morning, she is up and walking like nothing happened, eating and drinking and trying desperately to escape her cardboard hospital. I'd like to share our journey in the hopes that other Lil Peeps out there can join her on the sunny side of this disorder.
3 days ago I let out my mating pair of geese, Frank and Olive, along with their 3 beautiful 5 week old bubbas. They have 2 girls and 1 boy. I noticed one of the girls was just lying down, and when she did get up she walked with her tail pointing sharply toward the ground with a thumping and slow Frankenstein worthy gait, she'd walk in this manner for around 5-6 paces then just flop down in submission while crying. Immediately I knew something was wrong and scooped her up.
Call me naaive and stupid (because I was) but while I knew geese needed different food forms than chooks I didn't realise how important niacin was in there diet. I had raised a baby duckling before and had some vitamin b3 tablets left over as she had a deficiency with severely bowed legs when her parents chased her into my front yard, so I added one of them crushed up in some water along with a dash of sugar before rushing to the internet to check what times my vet opened. It was almost 6am by this point, and my vet wouldn't be open until 8:30. I sat there with her and googled and sure enough came across Niacin deficiency.
I was hoping maybe Frank had stepped on her and sprained her leg in doing so, but upon examination she didn't wince when I touched her leg or gently moved it for her. My heart sank. The other two bubs were perfectly fine, but my dear Lil Peep was in all sorts.
I took her to the vet, her legs weren't bowed and her bones were strong, her muscles seemed healthy also. She did note a possible heart murmur but Lil Peep was living up to her name and chatting away the entire time. She told me to up the niacin but we caught it early, and to up her protein to build muscles up. Since her legs weren't bowed she was most likely just too weak to walk from her deficiency and lack of strength. Then finally a vitamin B shot directly into her breast as well as a vitamin C shot for good measure and $109 dollars later we were on our way back home. She told me I'd know in 24 hours, but could come back in 3 days for another injection if absolutely necessary. I googled the home remedies and picked up some staples: fresh Vitamin B3 tablets, a tub of meal worms, a different brand of starter crumble and a tub of brewers yeast.
That day she mainly rested, I mixed the b3 into her water and mixed the yeast through the crumble along with some boiled eggs for a protein boost. She'd peck around at it but didn't eat too much, she did drink alot.
Day 2 was game on. I decided to stop fuddy dudding around and mixed 1 teaspoon of yeast into her jar of water for the day along with the B3 tablet, for best results I would add boiling water and store them together well to dissolve the tablet and the yeast, it made my kitchen smell like beer also! I would fill a gravy jug with 2 tablets and 2 teaspoons and do the same thing for the water in the pen with the other two bubs, it would get diluted down a fair bit though but it was still pretty cloudy in their outside dish so I knew it'd do its job. It's important to treat all bubs as though they have the deficiency, because for all you know they do but aren't showing symptoms yet. I took some meal worms out their humble sawdust tub and chucked them into a clean jar (with the lid off for air and sides tall enough they couldn't crawl out!) with brewers yeast for lil peep to munch on. The plan was the worms eat yeast, she eats worms, badda bing badda boom extra kick in the butt of niacin. I'm unsure if they actually did eat the yeast, but they were covered in a costing of it that she ate along with them to that was good enough to me.
I filled a tub with water deep enough to where she couldn't stand, and we did 3 swimming sessions. The first she just bobbed and I gently peddled her legs, then we sat on the grass to dry off and she ate, tried to stand and walk, and I felt my heart crumble as she just fell over repeatedly and cried. Her second swim went better, she paddled and even tried to dive a little bit, and her third even better again. There was hope.
I had her hospital next to my bed, she needed my company all through the night and lemme tell ya I got maybe 3 hours sleep but hey, that's what babies do best. She tried to walk and would fall and cry, at one point she had flipped herself upside down completely and I had to turn her back over, at this point my hope was withdrawing but I just petted her head until she fell back asleep and planned on the next day.
Well, today is the next day. And I was woken up not by her crying and falling, but her screaming in my ear, standing up and looking at me, demanding an early breakfast. I looked at her so puzzled and then quickly realised wait, she's standing! I was so happy I jumped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen for her supplies. By the time I got back she was once again standing, but this time at the other end of the box. I looked at her and she just walked over to her food bowl and screamed at me for her breakfast, completely unaware to my amazement and excitement that she could! Her tail is in the air, she's eating and drinking standing up, she's preening herself and peering over every corner of the box to see what goodies lie in step Mamas house that she can't reach, she's back to herself completely as if nothing had happened to begin with.
I will still keep her in with me for the day to let her rebuild her strength a bit more before venturing back off with her sister, brother and heavy footed father and mum, but all in all this was a success story that had you asked me in the beginning I wouldn't have thought possible.
I thought I'd share this in case it helps anyone else out there, I know it's long but since it worked and I struggled so hard to find success stories I wanted to give someone else out there hope instead of doom and gloom. Catch it early, do the right things and maybe you'll have the same blessings I did with Lil Peep. Stay strong and positive because you never know what the next day holds, nature is beautiful and stronger than we think even in its smallest forms. Good luck and sending love and prayers out to any and all other parents and their feathered bubs going on this journey!
3 days ago I let out my mating pair of geese, Frank and Olive, along with their 3 beautiful 5 week old bubbas. They have 2 girls and 1 boy. I noticed one of the girls was just lying down, and when she did get up she walked with her tail pointing sharply toward the ground with a thumping and slow Frankenstein worthy gait, she'd walk in this manner for around 5-6 paces then just flop down in submission while crying. Immediately I knew something was wrong and scooped her up.
Call me naaive and stupid (because I was) but while I knew geese needed different food forms than chooks I didn't realise how important niacin was in there diet. I had raised a baby duckling before and had some vitamin b3 tablets left over as she had a deficiency with severely bowed legs when her parents chased her into my front yard, so I added one of them crushed up in some water along with a dash of sugar before rushing to the internet to check what times my vet opened. It was almost 6am by this point, and my vet wouldn't be open until 8:30. I sat there with her and googled and sure enough came across Niacin deficiency.
I was hoping maybe Frank had stepped on her and sprained her leg in doing so, but upon examination she didn't wince when I touched her leg or gently moved it for her. My heart sank. The other two bubs were perfectly fine, but my dear Lil Peep was in all sorts.
I took her to the vet, her legs weren't bowed and her bones were strong, her muscles seemed healthy also. She did note a possible heart murmur but Lil Peep was living up to her name and chatting away the entire time. She told me to up the niacin but we caught it early, and to up her protein to build muscles up. Since her legs weren't bowed she was most likely just too weak to walk from her deficiency and lack of strength. Then finally a vitamin B shot directly into her breast as well as a vitamin C shot for good measure and $109 dollars later we were on our way back home. She told me I'd know in 24 hours, but could come back in 3 days for another injection if absolutely necessary. I googled the home remedies and picked up some staples: fresh Vitamin B3 tablets, a tub of meal worms, a different brand of starter crumble and a tub of brewers yeast.
That day she mainly rested, I mixed the b3 into her water and mixed the yeast through the crumble along with some boiled eggs for a protein boost. She'd peck around at it but didn't eat too much, she did drink alot.
Day 2 was game on. I decided to stop fuddy dudding around and mixed 1 teaspoon of yeast into her jar of water for the day along with the B3 tablet, for best results I would add boiling water and store them together well to dissolve the tablet and the yeast, it made my kitchen smell like beer also! I would fill a gravy jug with 2 tablets and 2 teaspoons and do the same thing for the water in the pen with the other two bubs, it would get diluted down a fair bit though but it was still pretty cloudy in their outside dish so I knew it'd do its job. It's important to treat all bubs as though they have the deficiency, because for all you know they do but aren't showing symptoms yet. I took some meal worms out their humble sawdust tub and chucked them into a clean jar (with the lid off for air and sides tall enough they couldn't crawl out!) with brewers yeast for lil peep to munch on. The plan was the worms eat yeast, she eats worms, badda bing badda boom extra kick in the butt of niacin. I'm unsure if they actually did eat the yeast, but they were covered in a costing of it that she ate along with them to that was good enough to me.
I filled a tub with water deep enough to where she couldn't stand, and we did 3 swimming sessions. The first she just bobbed and I gently peddled her legs, then we sat on the grass to dry off and she ate, tried to stand and walk, and I felt my heart crumble as she just fell over repeatedly and cried. Her second swim went better, she paddled and even tried to dive a little bit, and her third even better again. There was hope.
I had her hospital next to my bed, she needed my company all through the night and lemme tell ya I got maybe 3 hours sleep but hey, that's what babies do best. She tried to walk and would fall and cry, at one point she had flipped herself upside down completely and I had to turn her back over, at this point my hope was withdrawing but I just petted her head until she fell back asleep and planned on the next day.
Well, today is the next day. And I was woken up not by her crying and falling, but her screaming in my ear, standing up and looking at me, demanding an early breakfast. I looked at her so puzzled and then quickly realised wait, she's standing! I was so happy I jumped out of bed and rushed to the kitchen for her supplies. By the time I got back she was once again standing, but this time at the other end of the box. I looked at her and she just walked over to her food bowl and screamed at me for her breakfast, completely unaware to my amazement and excitement that she could! Her tail is in the air, she's eating and drinking standing up, she's preening herself and peering over every corner of the box to see what goodies lie in step Mamas house that she can't reach, she's back to herself completely as if nothing had happened to begin with.
I will still keep her in with me for the day to let her rebuild her strength a bit more before venturing back off with her sister, brother and heavy footed father and mum, but all in all this was a success story that had you asked me in the beginning I wouldn't have thought possible.
I thought I'd share this in case it helps anyone else out there, I know it's long but since it worked and I struggled so hard to find success stories I wanted to give someone else out there hope instead of doom and gloom. Catch it early, do the right things and maybe you'll have the same blessings I did with Lil Peep. Stay strong and positive because you never know what the next day holds, nature is beautiful and stronger than we think even in its smallest forms. Good luck and sending love and prayers out to any and all other parents and their feathered bubs going on this journey!
