ippuku abisensei🍵🐔👘

CONTENT WARNING: Gross things expelled from a chicken.

These days, it seems like with the swing into fall and the leaves beginning to turn that things are a little out of balance.

That goes for the chickens as well.

We’ve been to the emergency vet TWICE in the past week for egg bound related issues, and last night’s adventure with Thunder was no exception. Seeing as we’ve been going much more often now that our flock has expanded, I’m starting a series of posts about our vet visits as a record and reminder, but also perhaps sharing knowledge about these situations so others can learn from our successes and mistakes too. It’s an always educational journey out here with Abisensei!🙌

Last night, Lil Miss Black Thunder wasn’t feeling well. She was hunched over, head tucked in like a turtle, and straining herself over and over again trying to poop. Lately we’ve had quite a few backup plumbing issues with our girls, so this was nothing new.

What was new was that she was silent.

No growling, no biting. No usual Thunder attitude. Thunder in normal mode is the sassiest, spiciest little chicken of many opinions and she will LET YOU KNOW. LOUDLY. But last night she was quiet, and let us pick her up with zero struggle. Something was definitely wrong.

We immediately gave her a quick look over to make sure we weren’t missing anything obvious. Massaging her belly caused her to tip her butt down in egg laying position, which looks similar to how a penguin stands. I gloved up with Vaseline and went in to make sure there wasn’t anything obstructing the exit to the poop/egg chute.

I couldn’t feel anything.

So whatever it was was further along inside where I couldn’t reach.

Poor bud.

That meant it was emergency vet time. The thing about egg binding/internal egg related issues is that they can kill fast. Like within 24 hours fast. Modern chickens are bred to be well-oiled egg laying machines, and sometimes the genetics and body functions get wonky and cause a backup in the flow of eggs. And when things get stuck or stop in a chicken, it becomes a time bomb for infection or worse. So we packed her up in crate and headed to our nearest emergency vet nearly an hours drive away.

Not using my iPhone gave me a chance to explore what options are out there on the radio waves these days, and honestly I didn’t find anything interesting outside of public radio stations. I figured just some humans talking would be relaxing for Thunder too. About halfway through the ride I had to shut them off due to the overload of “Hey, the world is on fire!”-type news shows. Sigh.

So we finished our ride out to the vet in silence and without Google Maps. I’m really glad I remembered how to get there in the dark without my iPhone as a guide.

When we arrived, we were seen immediately and I was relieved that the clinic wasn’t busy. A few dogs and a cat. Nothing crazy.

The team got right to work with Thunder and I was super proud of her for not biting anyone. She was weighed, the staff asked me some questions, the usual for triage intake stuff. After we got situated I was exhausted and left to use the restroom and get some snacks.

When I returned, the veterinary technicians were giving Thunder an ultrasound to see if they could locate any stuck eggs or debris inside of her. I’d honestly never seen this before and was really intrigued. I guess they don’t get docile chickens very often, so it was a unique learning experience for everyone.

Nothing to report from the ultrasound, but that didn’t mean she was out of the woods. There was definitely still something stuck somewhere in there, and it needed to come out.

So the doctor recommended IV fluids, vitamins, and pain relief to get things moving again. It was highly likely that she was dehydrated from the heat lately or hadn’t been getting enough nutrition. In addition, Being a new egg layer comes with a higher chance of eggs not coming out right or not at all. So these things would hopefully help get things moving again.

After injections were done we were free to pay our bill and head home to rest. It was certainly not a cheap adventure – just short of $500 – but my pets are worth it. The cost of having chickens as pets, and I accept it.

Thunder and I spent the drive home chatting one-sidedly and cursing the 24-hour Dunkin’ that was “temporary closed” on our route home. A cup of coffee and a donut at midnight would’ve been the best after all of that, but we made it home safely anyways.

Thunder also made some weird gurgling noises just as we hit the last stretch to the driveway, which I decided to check on once we got inside. The point was that she was home, alive, and seemed to be feeling a little better.

And after checking the contents of the pet carrier we found the culprit of the noises and egg bound discomfort – an oddly-shaped, underdeveloped egg. Again, sadly not an unusual issue for pullets that have just started laying.

Thunder must’ve felt so relieved to get that out.

Today she is feeling much more like her usual self – growling and bit me three times as I tried to pet her while she was sitting on my shoulder and cuddling my neck. Ah, good ol’ tsundere Thunder. 🥰