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Dianne:

Honey arrived at the Nevada Humane Society with a story, no name but a story. Now you may be thinking everyone (even an animal) has a story but it is amazing how many animals are dropped off without anyone telling their story. It may be embarrassment or maybe it’s too time consuming but for the animals left without a story or even a name, I apologize now for my fellow human beings.

We named Honey after her golden red feathers. She is a young bird and was turned in because, at her previous home, the other chickens were being mean to her and the human caretaker felt she was starving to death. She was starving — Honey was so hungry that she had started eating rocks. Chickens do eat small amounts of grit to help in the digestion process but Honey was eating gravel.

The first sign that something was wrong was her large, swaying crop; it was so large that she stooped forward when she walked and the crop almost dragged the ground. At first we thought she was a new breed of chicken and maybe she would grow into her crop. Then one day her crop became huge and she started open-mouth breathing so we got her to a vet.

The vet’s conclusion was that the crop was filled with rocks. Honey was too underweight to go under anesthesia for surgery to remove the rocks so she would need to be indoors and isolated until she fattened up. We were to massage the crop to move the food around and aid digestion. Meanwhile, we pondered a $600 surgery bill. 

After a couple of weeks in isolation the crop became jelly-like, and one day when carrying her, she projectile vomited. It came out the mouth, nose and eyes — this was very traumatic for me but Honey took it in stride.

We made another vet appointment for the next morning. The vet was booked so we spent hours playing with Honey while we waited in an exam room. We broke up small pieces of dog biscuits and played tug with her as she leaped for wet paper towels.

This time, the vet needed to remove fluid from the crop to see why it was stopped up since the rocks seem to have passed. First they tried sticking a needle into the crop but the fluid was too viscus, so the vet put a tube down her throat and drained about 16 ounces of beige fluid. They examined it and found two kinds of infections. The good news was that Honey wouldn’t need surgery for the rocks. We were shown create a bra to hold up the crop in order to help food pass. And we were given two prescriptions. 

Since then, Honey has been happily spending her days in the isolation coop with Ginger and sometimes a little rooster named Miyagi. Her nights are spent in a large cage in Mark’s den. She is one of the most sweet and quiet birds I have ever met. Her infection hasn’t been cured but the signs are good she may be all right. The last two days she has laid her first eggs, something malnourished birds can’t do.

The sad thing is that this could have been avoided. She could have been removed at her previous home from the other birds and fed separately. At sanctuaries, this happens often — hay bales, wire temp fencing and locking an animal inside at feeding times are all simple steps to ensure that less aggressive birds get the chance to eat without being bullied. The “pecking order” is forever changing and the weak ones may actually become top bird once they get strong and healthy.

Honey’s story will have a happy ending. She may need to wear a bra and possibly be on intermittent medications for the rest of her life. She might even need surgery. She will be a pampered bird with plenty to eat, with other bird friends and lots of human love.