Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Really pleased to hear that (and, yes, we're always interested!) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Always interested to hear chooks are on the mend. Glad to hear she's still improving . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPoule Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 That's fabulous news - glad to hear that things are going well. They are hardy wee things, eh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 We took Geraldine to see the Head vet today. She's gone up in weight from 1.85 Kg when she was poorly to 2.05 Kg today (her normal weight is around 2.5 Kg), so we're making progress. The vet had found a small lump near her liver during the last examination, and wasn't sure whether this was a tumour or a capsulised infection, but the lump seems to have got a bit smaller, so hopefully it's the latter and the latest antibiotics are doing their stuff, penetrating the capsule, and killing the infection. To be on the safe side we will continue with the antibiotics for another month, and we'll also continue to crop-feed her twice a day to try to build her up to her normal weight. However, she is eating for England at the moment - everything we put in front of her gets gobbled up - so she's doing her bit too. She has also gone back to being properly naughty, and has reclaimed her position as boss hen, so far as we can tell. She is also a lot more difficult to catch now, and weaves around like a fly half when we try to corner her for a crop feed, so we have to resort to bribery with food to get her back into the Eglu in order to catch her. So, at the moment things are looking positive. But we'll have to keep a close eye on her progress to make sure she doesn't start going downhill again. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgies Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 So delighted to hear that all your tender nursing is helping your lady make some improvements! I've got everything crossed for you here, very good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Thats good news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Very good news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 so happy for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 It's lovely to have such good news! Thanks for sharing with us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 That's really great news . The naughtiness must surely be a good sign . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 How did I miss this saga? Delighted to hear that she is improving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 Well it's been a while, so we thought we'd give a quick update. Geraldine is still with us. We are still giving her antibiotics each morning and evening, and have another two weeks to go. We'll be taking her down to the vet for another check up just before the antibiotics run out, and hope that the lump will have gone down sufficiently for her to stop taking them. We stopped the anti-inflammatories a while back, and she hasn't had a vitamin B12 jab for over a week, but seems fine without it. We are still giving her supplementary feed through a tube twice a day, although we are now cutting down on the amount and hope to stop altogether once she's properly back up to her fighting weight. She now weighs 2.48 Kg, so she's almost there. She's very bright, still eating for England, and seems like her old self, but we won't relax until we've taken her back to the vet. We're hoping for positive news, but can't take that for granted. Yesterday she seemed a little less active, but she laid an egg today which might explain that. We wish she hadn't bothered as we want her to put all her energy into her recovery, but we're taking it as a positive sign. We saw her tucking into oyster shell too, which she hasn't done since she fell ill, so hopefully that's another good sign. Victoria, who gets to share all the treats that we've been giving to Geraldine to build her up, is now the size of an aircraft carrier. If she gets any bigger she'll have trouble getting into the Eglu! We'll give you another update in a couple of weeks, or if anything changes before then. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Missed this thread before - what a tale of ups and downs. So pleased she has improved such a lot. They do keep you on your toes don't they. Lots of of TLC certainly helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budgies Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I'm glad to hear she seems to be responding to all the care and the medication. Good luck for her continuing improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick&Trish Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 We thought we'd give you the final chapter in this saga. Unfortunately, Geraldine didn't make it and had to be put to sleep yesterday. She was properly better at one stage, and she was off the antibiotics and back to being her old self (i.e. naughty) but after 3-4 weeks without the antibiotics she started getting lethargic again and the lump, which had by now been identified as a swollen liver, had started to grow. We put her back onto the antibiotics, but this time they didn't work - the bacteria had probably had time to build up a resistance - so we tried another antibiotic to no avail, then another, and another - by which time she had stopped eating so we were back to tube feeding again. The last antibiotic available seemed promising at first, as she made a little rally, but eventually it was clear that she was slowly going downhill as she would spend much of her time resting between spurts of activity. Yesterday morning we found that her crop hadn't emptied from the previous evening's feed, so it was back to the vet who confirmed that all her systems were closing down, and there was no hope. We therefore took the difficult decision to have her put to sleep, as we couldn't just watch her fade away over the next few days. All very sad, but at least we managed to give her 3-4 months of good-quality life that she wouldn't have otherwise had. Victoria seems OK on her own at the moment, and may actually be more active now, as she was spending a lot of time keeping Geraldine company while she was resting. Obviously we'll keep a close eye on her and give her lots of fuss, and if we feel that she's lonely we'll consider getting her some company - although we've been advised that at her age (4.5 years) she might find younger hens traumatic and get picked on. We'll just have to see how it goes. Nick and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 So sorry to hear she didn't make it through. She was lucky to have someone so dedicated who obviously loved her so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henhathnofury Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 It's lovely that you gave her that extra time. I can relate fully as I just nursed a girl after a prolapse, but gave her a couple of weeks to dustbathe and lie in the sun. So sorry that she died. Such a shame. Poor you. Take care of yourself and remember that you did a brilliant job throughout.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Aww Bless sorry to hear your news what a lucky girl she was to have such dedicated parents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 So sorry to hear about Geraldine but you know you did everything you could and she enjoyed her last few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
