AVIAN MEDICAL CASE OF THE DAY: Birds do some dumb things! This chicken came into our avian veterinary clinic yesterday with a history of weight loss, decreased activity, and a very distended crop. The crop was very heavy, and the contents felt gritty. We learned that the owners had recently put in a ton of sand as bedding material, and for some reason, this silly girl decided sand was delicious! We took her straight into surgery, made an incision in her crop just big enough for a teaspoon to fit through, and proceeded to scoop out 412 grams of sand, almost 15 ounces. No wonder she was so exhausted and wanted to lay down all the time! Last week we did the same surgery for a hen who ate so much grass in a couple of hours that it formed a big, tangled ball in her crop that would not go away despite all of the treatments the owner attempted. Cases like this are very satisfying because we were able to make an immediate diagnosis, and within 30 minutes we cured both birds of life-threatening disorders. (fb)

Dr. Burge will be out of town from noon on Friday, April 25, until 9:00am on Friday, May 2. We still have openings on Thursday 4/24 and Friday morning 4/25 if you have a bird that needs to be seen right away. Call us at 816-356-4700. (fb)