An update on Caramel

This morning I gave Caramel her antibiotic and her painkiller to her beak then gave her some sugar water to her beak.

I took her to the vets at nine o’clock for her check up and the vet sluiced her eye with saline and then gave her the eye drops. I struggle to do this when she has her eye closed so asked the vet to do it for me as we were there.

The vet asked me to bring Caramel back in at twelve o’clock as she was visiting a sister practice that had a chicken expert and an eye specialist. She said she would like them to take a look at her. She said with a larger chicken she would give a local anesthetic and check that there wasn’t anything in her eye but as Caramel is so tiny she doesn’t want to risk that and would like a second opinion from the eye specialist.

The vet said I was doing the right thing giving her sugar water as it makes sure she gets both water and a bit of glucose. I told her she has trouble pecking at the food and she said it was the pain that disorientates her.

I took Caramel home and put a dish of chopped pellets, chopped grapes, corn and sunflower hearts and a dish of mash in the cat box. Caramel tucked straight in. I think it’s because the pain killer has had time to work that she is suddenly able to eat. When she had stopped eating I put her back in the run and she went straight to the pellets.

A chicken buffet for Caramel

I took her back at twelve o’clock and said that she had had some food. I asked the vet to give her the second dose of eye drops. She was opening her eye a little at this time. The receptionist said she would call when Caramel was back.

An hour and a half later I got the call to go and collect her. The vet said it was good news. There was nothing in her eye and the eye expert said that as it’s so sore and swollen it will take a few more days to start to improve. The vet said that she is perkier today and eating is a really good sign. She said to continue with the present regime and in a weeks time if I am still worried to take her back but if I am happy that she is on the mend then I won’t need to go back.

The vet said I could call her any time if I was worried. I am so pleased to have found such a great vet.

Before bed time I gave Caramel some sugar water and her dish of treats again. I was disappointed that she didn’t seem able to pick up the bits very well. She does have her eye open some of the time though and when I returned her to the run she ate a few pellets.

I think she eats best in the morning when the pain killer has kicked in and it probably wears off towards the end of the day. I think as long as she has a good feed in the morning that is probably enough for her along with sugar water several times a day and I will keep up with this regime.

At bedtime Caramel was first to go in which isn’t surprising in her poorly state. She settled in their usual corner.

Caramel settles in the usual corner

The darker, sticky looking, feathers on her neck are where I have dribbled the sugar water. I don’t think I need to worry about this at the moment.

When Pebbles went in she went to the low perch we had put in for them.

Pebbles finds the low perch

The problem is that as soon as the other girls went in they intimidated her down from the perch. She went to the corner and settled with Caramel.

I realise that the problem is that the little girls like to go in earlier than the rest of the girls and once the rest of the girls go in, the low perch is in their path from the pop hole to the back perch, so they knock the little girl out of the way. This is why the little girls settle in the corner behind the door out of the way of the other girls.

This means that this is where their lower perch needs to be but there is no where to fix it to. We will have a think and come up with a way of putting a perch in this corner but at the moment I don’t want to add any more stress until Caramel is on the mend so we will manage like this for now.

I am feeling more hopeful today, that although it’s slow progress, Caramel is improving. If she gets a bit better each day I will be happy.