My rescue "Big Red" almost died the other night! She's doing much better. What amazes me is that I thought something might be wrong a few days earlier, but I brushed it off as being a worry-wart. I had even told DH that I was considering putting her back in quaranteen because "something seemed off"- I should have listened to myself. Instead I feel like I put her into an even worse situation. On Monday night-after seeing she was missing from the coop when I "counted heads" during lock up - I found her in the yard on her side almost dead. She's now been on my couch with me for two nights (yes- she slept on my lap the first night, and in the cat bed on the couch with me next to her the next night). I found a couple small gashes on her back which I treated right away and gave her some food which she readily ate-- only to find she seemed to have sour crop. I didnt think she was going to make it---she had several seizures right in my lap--how aweful. She finally pooped last night as I picked her up and massaged her abdomen (I was concerned for blood flow - since she hasn't yet been able to stand)---She "farted out" the most disgusting smelling wad of poo ( about the size of a fist) and she's been doing better since.
She's been through so much....last month when I rescued her she had an advanced case of scaley mites and lost 1/3-3/4 of her scales, she had feather mites so bad that most of her feathers are broken and flimsy, and she had fowl mites. The orignial owner told me she quit laying eggs because she was really old (although he couldn't tell me how old she was). She rewarded my care through laying the biggest JUMBO sized eggs I've ever seen come from a chicken- rivaling duck eggs....
Anyway- the moral of this whole story---I truly feel she wouldn't have had to go through so much had I taken her in sooner. If she had been healthy--she would have gotten a little extra attention....but catching sickness early means that likely she could have been treated early so as not to deteriorate to this degree. So for those of you who are too shy to ask questions here--or feel they may just be too fussy over their birds---take this lesson here--trust your instincts- you just may save them from a hard recovery or even death.
I'm glad to report Big Red is trying to stand, her seizures are gone, and she's eating and drinking on her own....But I will forever bring a bird in "early" so as to make sure all my "babies" get the best care possible and get early treatment if necessary!!!!
An ounce of Prevention is worth a pound of cure....but the saying has left out that a couple ounces of early detection and treatment is also worth a pound of cure!
Sandra
She's been through so much....last month when I rescued her she had an advanced case of scaley mites and lost 1/3-3/4 of her scales, she had feather mites so bad that most of her feathers are broken and flimsy, and she had fowl mites. The orignial owner told me she quit laying eggs because she was really old (although he couldn't tell me how old she was). She rewarded my care through laying the biggest JUMBO sized eggs I've ever seen come from a chicken- rivaling duck eggs....
Anyway- the moral of this whole story---I truly feel she wouldn't have had to go through so much had I taken her in sooner. If she had been healthy--she would have gotten a little extra attention....but catching sickness early means that likely she could have been treated early so as not to deteriorate to this degree. So for those of you who are too shy to ask questions here--or feel they may just be too fussy over their birds---take this lesson here--trust your instincts- you just may save them from a hard recovery or even death.
I'm glad to report Big Red is trying to stand, her seizures are gone, and she's eating and drinking on her own....But I will forever bring a bird in "early" so as to make sure all my "babies" get the best care possible and get early treatment if necessary!!!!
An ounce of Prevention is worth a pound of cure....but the saying has left out that a couple ounces of early detection and treatment is also worth a pound of cure!
Sandra
