We can't seem to get away from heartbreak...

Yesterday afternoon Isabel and I went to the grocery store for more "buy 1, get 1 free" bags of lettuce for the flock.

As we worked out way through the pens, disbursing the goodies, Isabel noticed Jazzy was bleeding heavily out of her cloaca. I found a soft egg in her egg house (her first egg of the season) and then grabbed Jasmine, gave her a healthy dose of Torbutrol (pain meds) and rushed to the car and to the vet. Dr. Otka held open late for us and was ready for her when we arrived in record time.

He gave her a thorough look and then sedated her with more Torbutrol because she had lost a lot of blood and he didn't want to gas her and put her under because it could be risky.

I waited for two hours while they worked on her and when he came out, he said he stitched up a rectal tear. Apparently, in straining to get her soft egg out, she tore the lining in her oviduct and prolapsed a bit.

She came home with us and stayed in the house close by my bed, so I could check on her every couple of hours. I re-dosed her pain meds at 2:00 a.m. and then inserted a catheter line and syringed in some oviduct lube at 4:00 a.m. We did this in case she had another egg coming down, to prevent it from pulling out her stitches. She'll need this done every twelve hours along with Baytril to prevent infection.

She had an appointment this morning at 9:10 a.m. for a recheck. I gave her more Torbutrol and worried about the blood coming out with her urine.

Dr. Otka checked her again and thought she looked pretty good and said the blood was actually minimal and a non-issue. The concern is whether there are any more tears higher up in her oviduct. So... she's staying with him for the day and he's going to put her under to go in for a better look. If there are no other tears, he's going to sutcher her around the circumference of her oviduct--near the cloaca, allowing for expansion and for eggs to pass normally, but fully repairing her prolapse. With that and the lube and pain meds and antibiotics, she'll have a good chance of making it and should heal in 5-7 days. Healing in that part of the body actually happens relatively quick.

However... and this is the worry... if there are any other tears higher up, surgery would be invasive and her chances of surviving aren't likely... in which case... he will euthanize her while she's under. Please no... not again...

I kissed her on the fluff just over her bill and told her I loved her just in case...

So we're praying that there is no other unseen damage going on and that we can see her through this. In the meantime, poor Laddy... who has never been apart from his girl before. His neighbors Piper and Lilly are talking to him and sleeping beside him on their side of the fence and Shorty even came over for a brief visit.

Now we just wait for that phone call and pray it's a good one and I can go bring our girl home again.

Jazzy (L) and Laddy (R), February 7, 2012

...

Vet called... damage was too extensive... surgery could not repair... He euthanized her while under anesthesia...

Oh, my lovely girl... And your poor little Laddy...

Too much heartbreak to bear...