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Yes, I have an unopened jar of coconut oil in my 'chicken emergency kit.'


Perfect! Alright, so I would start with some water. Not a lot at first. Fill a 1 ml syringe with the water, and prepare the tube with the coconut oil. Then, get the chick and open its beak, and slide the tube down the esophagus and into the crop. The esophagus is down the right side of the bird's throat. When I say the right side, I mean the bird's right, so if the bird is facing you, that would be your left. You can feel the tube with your fingers down the side of the throat to make sure it's in place.

The trachea is the hole at the base of the bird's tongue, and the tube DOES NOT go there.

Once in place, slowly depress the syringe to release the water into the crop. Watch the crop; you will see it expand as the water enters. A bird's crop can safely hold up to 2% of its total body weight in volume. I would start with no more than 1% to be safe, so you can weigh out the water if you want to make sure it's not too much. I can just eyeball it by making sure the crop isn't fully expanded.

Here are some diagrams:

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The tube will go down the side of the throat that the syringe is down on this picture of a peacock. The hole at the base of the tongue is the trachea where it does not go.

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Here is a video of me tubing a little d'uccle chick I got from Tractor Supply a few weeks ago that was trying to die on me. It is now fully recovered :)


Once you know she is well-hydrated, you can move onto food.
 
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This is such a great and informative post. Thank you for putting this together. I really appreciate it.

Maybe this is me being paranoid, and I totally hope that's the case, but I when I went to tube her this AM, I noticed she has a hard lump in her throat. It's about midway down her neck. It's too far up to be her crop - it's almost like an enlarged Adam's Apple. I'll try to get a better photo when I have some help - decided she's too squirmy for me to tube alone for the first time.

Let me know if you think this is something I should be concerned about or if I just need a refresher on chicken anatomy.
Inked20190317_083345_LI.jpg
 
@MilesFluffybutt how's the little chick doing? Sorry, I missed your last post; didn't get a notification for the thread. I'm not sure what that lump is, did it go down?
 
Hey, no worries! That seems to happen frequently.

She's doing all right. She's slowly gaining weight and seems to be getting better at eating on her own. I got her a deeper dish and sorted out the mash consistency that works best for her. So I haven't had to tube feed her yet, which is kind of a relief, because that lump is still there. It's not changed size or location, but I'm wondering if it's an impact. Her vocals are good and her crop is full most of the time. My work schedule is less crazy now so I should be able to get her to the vet next week.
 
Just an update...
So I ended up losing my job (totally fine, it was a terrible place to work) and decided to get my finances sorted before taking the little one to the vet.

After spending the last few days w/ her, I've determined the lump in her neck is her neck - it's almost like a kink. If she stretches her neck, the kink isn't as noticeable.

I think, because of the kink, she swallows a lot of air which really distends her crop. Some days it's twice the size of her head and I can actually see an air pocket at the top, near her wing joint. It's very difficult to capture on my phone, but I've attached the best photo. I'll bust out my real camera later to get a better photo.

She is putting on weight, slowly. She started at 2.82 oz and is now up to 7.06 (post-breakfast w/ huge crop.)

As I expected her beak is worsening, and so far, it's only impacted her ability to drink from a traditional waterer. She does okay with a dish, but I'm going to rig up a nipple system. She does very well taking water out of a dropper/syringe.

She has produced a variety of poops across the poop spectrum.

She also seems to be sneezing a lot. Unsure why - maybe food particles in her nostrils.

Anyway, I hope to get her to the vet soon.

Inked20190403_114704_LI.jpg
 
Just an update...
So I ended up losing my job (totally fine, it was a terrible place to work) and decided to get my finances sorted before taking the little one to the vet.

After spending the last few days w/ her, I've determined the lump in her neck is her neck - it's almost like a kink. If she stretches her neck, the kink isn't as noticeable.

I think, because of the kink, she swallows a lot of air which really distends her crop. Some days it's twice the size of her head and I can actually see an air pocket at the top, near her wing joint. It's very difficult to capture on my phone, but I've attached the best photo. I'll bust out my real camera later to get a better photo.

She is putting on weight, slowly. She started at 2.82 oz and is now up to 7.06 (post-breakfast w/ huge crop.)

As I expected her beak is worsening, and so far, it's only impacted her ability to drink from a traditional waterer. She does okay with a dish, but I'm going to rig up a nipple system. She does very well taking water out of a dropper/syringe.

She has produced a variety of poops across the poop spectrum.

She also seems to be sneezing a lot. Unsure why - maybe food particles in her nostrils.

Anyway, I hope to get her to the vet soon.

View attachment 1724775

Let us know what the vet says!
 
Oh my goodness! I am just catching up on this thread. What a wonderful thing you are doing for that hen @MilesFluffybutt
Is Essex Veterinary where you'll take her?

I'm going to do my best for her. It's going to be tough, and I hope she makes it, but if not, I'll know she had a chance and good life, even if brief.

Yes, I'm going to take her to Essex Veterinary. Drs. Elizabeth and Francois know their fowl, especially complicated cases.
 

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