[Maeve]

One more request.  The crop has not been stitched so she can't even have soft food until tomorrow.  The vet said it would close in 48 hours.  Given that she hasn't eaten (probably for a week now) is there anything I can give her to keep her going?  She has Lectade in her drinking water and that does contain glucose.  I don't think there's anything left in her system.  The last bit of faecal matter she passed was yesterday afternoon and that was just a tiny amount.  Now, after 12 hours, there is only pale yellow liquid. Many thanks.

[Maeve]

Henrietta is still with us.  She's still not eating at all.  She drinks water with Lectade in it so I suppose that is keeping her going.  About twice a day I syringe the water in which either layers mash has been soaked or the recovery food for herbivores I got from the vet.  I try to get about 4ml into her but whether this is too little (or too much at a time I have no idea.  She does seem to perk up afterwards.
She shows no sign of being in pain and as long as she continues to show interest in going upstairs (she's been in the house since Wednesday) and wander about every so now and then, I will persevere.  She spends a great deal of time sleeping but then she can hardly have much energy.  She has not improved but then she hs not deteriorated either. 
just thought give everyone an update.

[joyfull]

Shes obviously a fighter maeve and as long as she's not in pain keep trying, sending her hugs xx

[The Good Life]

Sounds just like mine very sleepy hopefully with the syringing food we can turn these girls around and get that chicken energy back

[traacyken]

hi hows she doing, not been on for a while hope shes improved x

[Maeve]

Our little Henrietta is still with us.  She has her ups and downs, she's not laying and there are days when she seems very quiet.  She also looks rather bedraggled: her gait is still a little unsteady and she frequently just falls asleep either standing up or she lies down and flops over to one side.  She has lost all the feathers on her back (though we think that's the Blackrock's doing) and her feathers seem sticky. Her nose is a little runny and her breathing has a sort of faint gurgling sound.  She's had these symptoms for well over a month now and while she does not seem to get better, she has certainly not deteriorated.  The only new development is the feather loss.  However I should add that a rattle of the corn jar works instant miracles -she adores corn and becomes very lively at the prospect of this treat, rushing over and pecking the ground at a speed you would not think she could muster. 
I have tried to establish what the problem might be by looking up poultry diseases but in my enthusiasm and ignorance managed to diagnose her as having nearly all of them!  Perhaps someone could narrow the field for me or recommend how I could improve her well-being?   
Many thanks again to all of you for your suggestions and support.  Your messages meant a great deal.
Maeve

[joyfull]

It sounds like she has a respirotary (sp?) so she may need antibiotics from her vet. I use aureomycin, but others use baytril. Joyfullxx

[Maeve]

We lost our lovely little Henrietta last Saturday.  Although she seemed to respond to the antibiotics and recover from the respiratory infection, she simply got thinner and thinner.  She could run up the garden if she heard the corn jar being rattled but if she fell over she could not right herself and on a few occasions I found her in the run, lying on her side and unable to get up.   
When she did not come out of the coop last week, I opened the hatch and found her not really conscious and barely breathing.  I held her until she died about an hour later.
Given how poorly she has been for the past three months since her impacted crop was excised, it's probably a miracle that she survived for as long as she did, tottering unsteadily after me in the garden if I had any corn in my hand.
Thank you to all you lovely people who offered advice and good wishes since my first appeal for help in June.  I shall think about company for Koko, our Blackrock, a little later.

[joyfull]

Sorry to hear that, but you did all you could for her. sending you and koko hugs xx

[dizzylizzie]

Oh no!..oh im so sorry for you, you obviously did your best, and that is all we can do. im sending bigs hugs for you xxx

[beulah59]

So sorry 

[Kate and her Ducks]

So sorry to hear your news. It's always hard to lose a loved pet and you clearly cared for her a great deal which is a gift in itself.

You may find that you need to think about company for Koko before you are really ready as they are really such flock birds. They don't do well without company.

[Mini Ellis]

So sorry to hear you lost her, but it sounds like she fought till the end.
Hugs
Hannah xxxx

[GrannieAnnie]

Oh what a shame after all your efforts.  But she was definitely a fighter wasn't she???

[iwantanallotment]

So very sorry to hear, was hoping for a happy ending as I read through all the pages tonight 

You have done so much to try and make Henrietta well, she was clearly a dearly precious girl and a very lucky one to have you as her Mom.  You never gave up on her.

Of course her loss is still raw and you can never replace her, but as Kate said, the other girl will be needing some company. Maybe the distraction would be a help to you, as well?

Some more hugs x