Midnight Emergency

Having got the chickens through the nightmare heatwave, I was just beginning to relax when Winnie took a turn for the worse. Thankfully, the Crossbeak and Special Needs group were able to help by telling me what medicine to order and how to help Winnie while we waited for it to arrive. With Harker’s Coxoid on its way, I reached into the fridge to get some milk. Apparently, the protozoa which causes the damage can multiply rapidly and the milk promotes the development of mucus as well as lining the intestines, protecting them from damage.

So there I was at midnight, sitting on the kitchen floor trying to syringe milk into a very grumpy Winnie. By the time I had got nearly 10ml into her, Winnie, the floor and I were all covered in milk.  Gently, I put her back into the coop with Coco and headed off to bed.

Before work, I managed to get another 5ml down her but when my husband came home for lunch to check on her, she refused to eat or have any liquid. Worried that she had taken a turn for the worse, the first thing I did when I got home was to check on her. She had somehow managed to wriggle out of the wheelchair and was splayed out on the floor. Putting her on my lap, I tried to get her to eat. After a few nudges, she began to eat and didn’t stop for the next ten minutes. Once her crop was full she resettled herself on my lap and dozed off. I put her back into the coop with Coco.

After dinner, I got hold of Winnie and syringe-fed her some more milk. Again, she was quite sleepy afterwards so I quickly put her back into the coop to settle down for the night. I just hope the medicine arrives tomorrow. In the meantime, you will find me in the garden with a chicken on my lap covered in milk.