Ophelia comes out of surgery

Ophelia came out of surgery this afternoon. When I picked her up at Adobe Animal Hospital, she was a little groggy, but seemed okay.

The vet helpfully gave us the icky — whatever it was — that had been clogging her crop. In a plastic bag. Looked like straw, maybe. There was no way that any amount of chicken massage could have broken up that gross tangle.

You can’t even see her incision because it’s covered by feathers.

She’s not really supposed to eat or drink tonight, and I was worried about her being with the rest of the other chickens, so I closed her in the chicken house — she jumped up to the roost, presumably to sleep. The other chickens will have to stay in their (completely closed) yard tonight instead of their snug house. It will be confusing to them, but they’ll live.

I originally planned to put her in with Nugget, but Nugget immediately began pecking Ophelia when I tried it out, so I whisked her out. I have a very bad feeling about Nugget. I’m afraid Nugget is a rooster. What are the ethics of getting a “rescue” chicken and then eating it? Re-homing a rooster can be nearly impossible, and I’m not sure what we can do with him. But first things first. This weekend’s task is helping Ophelia get better.