In memory of our goofy hen, Tethys:
It's not that chickens aren't tough creatures, but that the cost to get a vet to treat them far outweighs the benefits of keeping it alive, especially when their course of treatment is probably like this:
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| Far Side cartoon by Gary Larsen |
When Tethys had a prolapse, hubby and Son1 decided to tackle the situation themselves. "I'm not a veterinarian, but I play one on my own homestead." They put her in a bucket of water and washed her poopy butt, pushing the prolapse back the best they could.
Tethys had lost a lot of weight, but their TLC seemed to buy her some more time. She appeared to recover enough to lumber around the yard like a willow branch through molasses for several more weeks.
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| Far Side cartoon by Gary Larsen |
But, she was no spring chicken (ouch!), and, eventually, the illness and weight loss got to her and, I'm sad to report, she died last week.
We'll miss her, especially Son1 (who was having fun with her in this video).
If you raise chickens, do you have any home treatment success stories - where you brought it back from the brink of death - you'd like to share?
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
