Update - he's dying. Help? Has anyone tube-fed? My update at end of pg

[kinnip]

Quote:
Very cool, thanks for the info.

 

[danischi24]

My pleasure. I hope it can help.

 

[mountaintopchicken]

I found him dead at 11:00 last night. I had been awake, still dithering about whether to try to tube feed, or what to do.

I hate to think I might have inadvertently not gotten enough food into him, causing him to starve. I was trying to walk a fine line between trying to get food into him to keep him going, and keeping stuff moving through his crop without it gassing up into a giant balloon.

It might have been the food issue, because he had been fairly lively the past couple of says, clucking at me and seeming perky.

Now I wish I had given him more than just small amount of yogurt earlier yesterday. But his crop had weirdly stopped functioning as well again, after a couple of days when it had seemed to be getting better.

Now, if I had plunked some food and liquid into his crop by tube feeding last evening at about five, would he still have died? No idea.

You know what I think? I think basic veterinary care would have made the difference for him. Didn't necessarily have to have been an avian vet, just someone who has some veterinary knowledge so we could work on figuring this out. Even early last night, I bet some sub-Q fluids could have kept him going until we couuld give the nystatin a try.

It kind of boggles my mind that vets will say no to helping someones pet, even if that pet is kind of unusual. Years ago I called a vet about a sick chicken, and they said they didn't know how to help chickens. A while later I went to work as a receptionist for that same vet. I learned that they called me, "the crazy chicken lady" after that phone call, because I was crazy enough to try to get a chicken into a vet's office for help.

I might keep a syringe and some tubing on hand in case this comes up again, although there aren't to many chickens I would nurse this intensively. At least I got some good info about what to do next time from those of you who replied to this, especially the crop feeding info from danischi24, so thank you for that.

 

[mrs.67]

I am so sorry for your loss.

They bring us joy and make us laugh. Is that not what a pet is supposed to do.
Who cares your the chicken lady. I have a crowing competition with my Bantam rooster. I don't care about what my neighbors think. My husband says the only normal people are the one we don't know.

Now do not beat yourself up. You loved him and took wonderful care of him. Do you know the life of a chicken raised for slaughter? Look it up .. his life was a blessing. Pass that love onto the others.

Hugssssssss

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sorry for your loss, Mountaintop.