Ellie & Rosie go to the Vets

Last Saturday morning (26th November)  I took two of my girls, Ellie and Rosie to Cheshire as we had a 9.30 appointment to keep at the vets. It was an early start because the girl’s vet, Avian Veterinary Services  (AVS) is in Northwich and it takes about 45 minutes to get there.

I went down to get the girls who were busy eating their breakfast and really didn’t want to get into the pet carrier! After a bit of persuasion I managed to get both girls in and up to the house. Ellie is quite a big girl and I thought it might be a bit of a squeeze with both of them in the carrier so I put Rosie in a box we had in the garage. With both of them comfy and safe in the car I set off. It was a gorgeous winter morning, very cold and frosty but with the bright sunshine and blue skies the drive there and back was beautiful.

Ellie had been given a Suprelorin implant towards the end of July 2016 but she’d been a bit subdued and I was wondering whether her implant was starting to wear off. In simple terms, this hormonal implant stops hens laying for up to 6 months and has the potential to be a life saving treatment for commercial hens.

Rosie was moulting but she’d been quiet and subdued for a while; she was eating and going in the garden but would just stand with Ellie and she wasn’t very active. Her face and comb were a little bit pale and I wasn’t happy to say it was just down to her moulting. At just over 4 and a half, Rosie is my oldest ex-batt and I was worried her behaviour was because of something more serious.

The last time I was at the vets was after the last BHWT (British Hen Welfare Trust) rehoming day at the start of September when I took Annie. I’m so lucky to have found AVS and it says it all that when I don’t see them I miss them! Every time I go I get a huge hug from Carli and if we have time before my appointment, we always have catch up. Most of my girls have been to AVS and Carli, Richard and Em have been with me through some great times and some devastating times but their compassion and care has been unwavering and has no limits. They understand just how special ex-batts are and how much you can love these precious little characters.

Ellie was seen first, Em checked her over and took her in the back where with Carli’s help she was given her second implant. The implant is a really small chip which is just injected into the hen – I’ll be doing another post on this soon. As with a lot of ex-batts, Ellie has internal lumps and bumps and we agreed to give her some steroids for a while to try and manage the growth of these. Ellie stayed in the back after her implant ‘to recuperate’ and was very happy pottering around eating grapes and corn – not spoilt at all!

Rosie was next and Em and I agreed that she had a bit of a punk look going on because of her new pin fathers coming through! Things seemed OK on the outside and the dreaded beak opening mouth check was done – none of my girls like this, I don’t think any hen does! Em took Rosie into the back to do an internal check and I heard the words, “dirty protest” – oops! Em came back into the consulting room without Rosie who had apparently joined her sister and was also feasting on grapes and corn!

When Em examined Rosie she found a large ‘tubular’ lump inside her. This could either be really bad Salpingitis (infection and inflammation in her oviduct) or potentially a tumour. Rosie’s diagnosis was probably not a surprise given the issues ex-batts have; sadly I know the potential outcome if it is a growing tumour, and this always re-ignites my frustrations with the intensive egg production methods these hens are subjected to. We agreed that Rosie would go home with some steroids and some antibiotics and would come back again in two weeks (9th December) for a check up.

If during the first week Rosie was showing signs of improvement and passed a ‘lash egg’ (pus or other material that builds up because of the infection) it would mean it was more likely to be Salpingitis and that the antibiotics were working. If she didn’t pass any lash like material but seemed better, it would mean it was the steroids that were taking effect but that it was more likely to be a tumour.

After a bit of a photo shoot with the girls clearly loving the TLC they were getting, they were tucked back up into their box and pet carrier and we headed home.

It’s always fun and games giving the girls medicine when they’re poorly but after having done it so many times it doesn’t phase me anymore and my hen first aid skills have definitely developed. I remember the first time I was shown *how to rehydrate a poorly hen by inserting a tube (by beak) down and into the crop before syringing the water in – it was a bit unnerving and the first time I tried it was even worse. Sprout, the hen I had to do this for was quite poorly at the time and learning this was something that could potentially get her through a few more hours if I couldn’t get to my vets for whatever reason. In comparison, giving Rosie a dose of antibiotics (by beak from a small syringe) and two half tablets each day and  Ellie half a tablet each day was going to be a breeze!

Both girls were happy to be home and back in the run and were quick to update the others on their trip out. I think Ellie might have a tendency to exaggerate things a little bit because I’m sure heard clucking about being kidnapped, a giant needle and being given a GPS tracker….neither of them mentioned all the extra treats they’d been given though!

I’ll be doing another post on how the girls are getting on after Rosie has been for her check up so if you don’t want to miss it, then why not subscribe to follow my blogs using the link in the side menu?

(*I know it goes without saying but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say DO NOT try this yourself! I was shown how to do this by my vets who are specialised in treating birds.)