A rough day on the farm...

Sigh...where do I start? Vickie is starting to look better. I noticed yesterday when I went to massage her crop, that it was split wide open on her chest. I don't know if she pecked at it, clawed it with her foot, or if it just split because it ballooned too big. But part of her crop was hanging out, and the whole thing was a bloody matted mess. Her feathers stuck to it, and it was hard to clean. I cut away feathers with scissors to try to keep the area clean. For the most part she held perfectly still. Her ballooning had completely gone away, (I'm guessing the throwing up helped,) and she had a baseball sized mass in her throat...I'm guessing the blockage. I wrapped her in a towel, and laid her on her back. I had nothing to stitch her up, and the opening, (about 2 inches around) was so jagged and feather matted, I wasn't sure where to start. I thought about what MY mom would have done if it were me, and I poured hydrogen peroxide on it... ok ok...that's NOT what my mom would have done, but I figured it was a start. I wrapped her with a towel around her chest, so she couldn't get to it. Then I took her to the sink and washed her feet. That way if she did claw at it, it wouldn't be getting dirty. The closest thing I could grab was my Burts Bees shower gel. I could tell the citrus scent made her feel energized. After I dried her feet off, I put her in a laundry hamper on my bed and just watched her for awhile. Her eyes were closed so long I thought she died. Then she opened them and decided she didn't want to be wrapped in a towel. So I wrapped her again, (successfully after 4 tries) and put her to sleep in her kennel. I prayed she would be alive this morning.
This morning she was out of her towel again, and she hadn't eaten any of her applesauce that I snuck mineral oil into. It was 4 in the morning, and I tried to give her some oil before I went to work. She clamped her jaw shut, and wasn't having any of it. I once again thought, "What would my mom do?" So I moved the eyedropper like an airplane and sang, "There was a bee, up in a tree, and down it came..." Thank God chickens can't talk. Because she looked at me like "Are you f*ing kidding me?!" I checked her chest again, and wrapped her up before I went to work.
I spent the day certain I was going to have to stitch her up tonight. She seemed to be gaining at least a tiny bit of energy, but she still wasn't passing her blockage, and I couldn't massage her crop anymore with her chest ripped open.
I went to work, (I know...today is Saturday,) and on my way out, I tripped going up a flight of concrete stairs. I scratched my hand and it bled a little, and landed hard on my left knee. Thank God no one saw! I hobbled to my tahoe and headed home. I didn't even want to look at my knee. And even though it was throbbing, there was no way in hell I was going to go to the doctor, because it's been awhile since I've shaved my legs...
So I got home and went right down to the coop. Son of a B*tch. (No not butch). The other chicken that hadn't been doing well was dead in the corner of the coop. I'm so pissed at myself for not bringing her up to the house too. She looked like she was hanging in there...and Victoria was so much worse. Looked like she just fell asleep and didn't wake up. I think the cold was too much for her...she had looked fine and was eating and drinking...she just seemed a little down on her energy. I could kick myself right now. I really think I could have saved her. :( Sigh...she didn't really have a name...but I feel I need to give her one. Rest in Peace Matilda. I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner...
So I drove up to the house thinking if Victoria was dead, that I was going to flip. I went into my bedroom, and I was relieved to hear her start sqwaking at me. I picked her up, and it felt like her obstruction was shrinking. I looked in the kennel, and sure enough there were a few really solid poops, and some masses of what looked like grass. She explored my bedroom while I cleaned the kennel. I told her about Matilda while I cleaned her water... Vickie didn't say anything in return. When I turned around to see why she was so quiet, I found her head in the food bag. I ran over to her, and picked her up. Real chicken food could cause her to become impacted again! I set up a little operating table and wrapped her up in a towel so I could look at her chest. She held very still while I cut away more feathers. The size of the wound had gone down a significant amount with the shrinking of her crop. It had also scabbed over, with feathers imbedded in various parts of the scab. I didn't want it to get infected, so I pulled most of it off, and cleaned it with the solution we had got for Wynnona's toe. I then put the ointment on it that we had left over from Wynnona. I sang her "Little Lamb," a song my mom used to sing me, hoping it would soothe her...Either she was soothed, or she was nervous about my scissor skills, because she held perfectly still.
When I was done, I gave her a special mash consisting of hot water, her chicken feed, and yes...mineral oil...
She fell for it, because she quickly gobbled it all up. She is 100 times better than she was yesterday. A lot more energy...and a perkier disposition. I think she will make it.
Today was a rough day on the farm...but tomorrow is a new day. My knee is throbbing, so I am going to hit the hay...to help the new day get here a little faster.
RIP Matilda...down to 25.