Video: Reba Squat-Walks ~Update ~ RIP, Beautiful Reba

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Do you have any mineral oil? Maybe giving her some will lube her up a bit - we (the vet and me) have used it when my horses are colicing from a blockage of poo.

 

[speckledhen]

I gave her some plain yogurt with a pinch of epsom salts and a drizzle of mineral oil (bottle is almost empty-we have it for the dog). If this doesn't work, will do more mineral oil. If it's something in the oviduct blocking the intestines, then it won't do anything and we're sunk.

ETA: Just after I gave her bread soaked in mineral oil, I took her down to walk around and she did poop, so something is getting through, probably due to our probing this morning. At least that's something.

 

[speckledhen]

Update:


Reba is better! She had been spending most of the day with her "sisters" in the old ladies' pen and nights in the hospital coop because we were afraid she would have a hard time staying on the roost all night. One night about a week ago, she was already up the ramp and in the old ladies' coop with the others and didn't want to leave so we left her there. She's been there ever since. Noticed that she wasn't always squat-walking, sometimes would stand upright and her tail would be up, then would be down again, but was gradually getting better. Yesterday and today, she was all over the property, free ranging with her peer group. I asked DH to pick her up and check her abdomen. Surprisingly, the enlarged abdomen is gone and it seems normal again. Guess the pencillin may have kicked out the infection and her body reabsorbed the fluid. Now, we have to see if she begins laying again or not, but for now, Reba seems to have recovered.

 

[cobrien]

For my dog, my holistic vet recommended pumpkin as a natural laxative. couldn't hurt to try. maybe a pain reliever, too? aspirin, metacam, or butorphanol are what I use for chickens. butorphanol is pretty heavy duty.

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you for the suggestion, but she doesn't seem to have any pain or have a pinched nerve any longer. I'll remember that about the pumpkin, though. She is walking normally, tail up, even running. We're just waiting to see if she resumes laying again-she was laying prior to this weird thing happening to her, three or four eggs each week, even at her age.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

So exciting to hear that she is feeling better and moving like she should.

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you! It wasn't looking good for her for awhile there, but I do believe that a hen's overall glowing good health does contribute to her ability to recover when her body malfunctions that way, at least to some degree. She's one tough cookie, just like Ivy was.

 

[speckledhen]

Video of Reba from today, much improved!

http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/Mtnviewpoultry/Video Clips/?action=view&current=DSCN2417.mp4

 

[PepsNick]

I was wondering! Yay!

 

[Tikkijane]

Hooray!!!