I have been taking care of a sick hen in the house for a couple of days. She has an abscess by her eye from an infection. This morning I sent the vet photos and asked for a second antibiotic with hopes of different results.
When I came home he was already here he was a little concerned and wanted to check her out. Bad news, she needed a small operation.
He setup a station and got his tools from the truck, my first thought was how efficient. Jay was assisting but asked me to take over for a moment so he could change. I could do it, I had handled blood before!
There was a lot of blood, she was angry and the vet was cutting and pressing as the blood pooled down. He tried to reassure me “this is not much blood … she is coagulating really well … her comb is still nice and red”. I just kept seeing blood.
I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t doing anything or because I focused way to much on what was happening but all of the sudden I was hot, weak and white as a ghost according to Jay.
Thank heavens Jay came back because I don’t think I was making it much longer. I left to catch my breath, change, tie my hair and rinse my face but was back in a couple of minutes – not healed but standing.
The vet stayed for some time after making light conversation but I think he was more worried about me then the hen. I gave her some medication, hand fed her feed and water, waited for the bleeding to stop and put her back to rest.
This was a new situation for me and I may not have been up for it but thats why we make such a great team.
So $50 in and my $10 hen might be alright. You don’t get into this to make money.
The Cooks Coop 