Chicken survived a Heat Stroke

[casportpony]

She needs to be tube fed fluids or she will probably die. Any vet will have the supplies you need for tubing and should just sell them to you. Ask them for a size 18 french catheter and a catheter tip syringe. She should not be fed until she is hydrated! Keeping sick birds alive requires a lot of hard work and most people wait too long to get what they need to do it. Sorry if I sound harsh, but heat stroke is a life threatening problem and needs to be treated as such.

-Kathy

 

[Squiggytheroo]

My rooster Squiggy (a golden laced polish mix...we don't know what he's mixed with) had a heat stroke this summer as well. We were in the middle of a heat wave and I had been giving my chickens water and electrolytes along with frozen fruit to help keep them cool and hydrated. We were outside in the pool when I noticed Squiggy was just laying on the ground with his wing in the electrolytes. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. I went over to him and called his name and he still didn't move. He was still breathing. I dipped his beak into the electrolytes and at first he did nothing, after two more tries, he took a few sips. I kept trying until he stopped drinking. He still wouldn't open his eyes so I put him in a large dog crate and brought him into the basement where it's about 75 degrees (as opposed to the 98 outside). I gave him electrolytes in the crate and more frozen fruit. I kept him indoors until the heat broke three days later. The first day he couldn't stand up and could barely keep his eyes open. The next day was about the same. By the third day he was standing up and responding when I called his name. We brought him back outside to his coop and he seemed ok enough to leave him out there. He was still a bit slow but could walk, eat, and drink on his own. He seemed a bit relieved to be back outside with his girls. He lives with 5 month old pullets, a barred rock, a speckled sussex, and an ameracuana. He came to us as a rescue and was part of an all male flock looking for a home. We took him and one other roo home. They lived together until June of this year. We found Lenny (the other roo) a home with a family who wanted to add a friendly rooster to their flock of hens. After Lenny moved out, we got Squiggy some girlfriends and he's never been happier. Within hours I could hear him outside crowing. He has been back in his coop for about a week now and is still showing the effects of his heat stroke. He stands with his head drooped quite often and his eyes are closed a lot. He also moves pretty slow. I'm hoping in time, that will improve as well. The misters you mentioned are a great idea! I will have to look into those. After Squiggy's heatstroke I put 'pools' of water in the two runs (squiggy's run, and an all silkie flock). The pools were just storage bins with low sides that I filled half way with water. I read somewhere that they like to stand in the water when it's hot. Some did actually seem to enjoy it. For anyone living in a hot climate or having a heat wave like we did, I would recommend putting electrolytes out for your chickens, in addition to their water, daily. They are pretty cheap. It's about $2.50 for powder to make 3 gallons. I truly believe if we hadn't had those electrolytes out there, things would have been much worse for Squiggy. I've also heard of people putting fans out for their chickens too. So happy to hear your chicken is doing much better after her ordeal. It's so scary to watch them go through all of that. And for anyone wondering if their chicken is having a heat stroke, there are signs to look for...panting or labored breathing, lethargy, pale comb or wattles, spreading wings away from the body, limp, unresponsive, seizures or convulsions, and diarrhea. If the diarrhea is lime green, this is a sure sign. If you see any of these signs be sure to give them electrolytes and make sure they have cold water to drink. If they are unresponsive or unconcious, you need to cool them down right away and get fluids into them. If they can't drink on their own you need to get them to the vet asap. If you don't have chicken electrolytes on hand you can use gatorade or pedialyte or make your own. Here is a simple recipe for homemade electrolyte solution...1/2 teaspoon salt substitute (can be found in the spice aisle at the grocery store), 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon table salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 gallon water.

 

[realsis]

I'm so glad she is better and thank you so much for sharing this story! Where I live in California its scorching hot 112 degrees. I couldn't and didn't know what to do with my small flock of silkies so I ended up bringing them into my spare bedroom of my house where they still are. I tried putting water
on them and it just didn't help in 112degrees. They still panted and were miserable! But I'm going to get a mister system when I can afford it as that's a great idea! They are doing well in the house now as I made them a box big enough for me to lay in both length wise and width wise
They seem happy even laying eggs but I just don't know what else to do in this kind of desert heat. I knew I had to bring them in when wetting each bird didn't help. Silkies have a lot of feathers and can get hot easily. Heat stroke is my main concern in this summer heat. And where I live 112degrees is usual for summer. So I guess for a couple months they will stay inside here with me. your story is very inspiring and I'm so happy your bird is better! Thank you again for sharing and please keep us updated on how your birds doing. Good luck and God bless

 

[casportpony]

Just an FYI... I read something about putting water on them and I think the article said something about how it actually causes their blood vessels to constrict which causes them to retain more heat. I'm not saying not to, I just think it's worth looking into.

-Kathy

 

[babyfoot]

Read the original posters story and Thanks, it's given me hope. I found a hen at 6am looking very droopy and lethargic, comb fallen over, wattles thinned out, eyes droopy. Tongue inside mouth looked dry and sticky. I am presuming heatstroke although we did all we could yesterday for them. Showering them down four times during the 44c+ day and oscillating fan inside roost at night with doors open for any welcome breeze. She is now inside with us in front of a fan and she will only drink from a syringe, being careful to only give her a drink occasionally as too much too soon could do more harm than good. Her wattles look a little redder and plumper and her comb is a tiny little bit better, she seems a little more alert than earlier too but won't stand. She won't eat anyhting yet but I may have to tempt her just to kick start her metabolism. Just going out to check the others again as today is already at 40c and it's only 10.30am. The youngest chicks at almost three weeks old are faring well, the 'teenagers' at 11 weeks are okay too. Hubby is out there now setting up a misting network from the irrigation hoses and setting it on a timer. They hate being showered so a mister will be better and the water in the air cools the whole area down.

I cannot keep her inside as at the moment my in laws are here as MY FIL is having surgery next week so I can't keep a chicken in the house. My MIL would go bananas

 

[babyfoot]

I have no electrolytes, I live remotely and nowhere to get anyhting at short notice in a Sunday, can anyone recommend an alternative to put in water to help my hen recover from heat stroke?

 

[ten chicks]

I have no electrolytes, I live remotely and nowhere to get anyhting at short notice in a Sunday, can anyone recommend an alternative to put in water to help my hen recover from heat stroke?

This is a homemade electrolyte recipe,there are many listed online also.

1 gallon water
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Table salt
1 Tablespoon sugar


Administer for a couple of hours a day(remaining time give fresh water)for up to a week if needed.

For heat stroke/stress,immediately submerge chicken up to their neck into a pail of cool(Not Cold)water,this will immediately drop body temp and possibly save lives. Heat stroke can take days to recover from,some chickens take more time than others. It would be best for her to stay somewhere cool.

Place frozen milk jugs/pop bottles/water bottles in nest boxes/around coop,chickens will lay beside them if hot.

 

[Stiggy]

Just wondering, but what does the baking soda do for them body wise? I get the sugar and salt part. Ive got a Silkie who has heat stroke and cant move so she is inside where its cooler

 

[lahall03]

Thank you so much for posting this information I'm pretty sure my roaster had a heat stroke yesterday. I'm following some of your advice I just gave him sugar water with a dropper he is still breathing his eyes are closed his cone is getting mor pink in it it was almost black this morning..Your information is going to help save Leonard the roaster I'm praying .
Thank You

 

[HenLover123]

What an amazing story! Sadly, I couldn't revive my chicken today. When my mother went to go check on the hens, she did what she always does. She pours them dried corn,seeds,healthy food for their eggs and water. While she was doing that, 1 of our 5 hens was peacefully eating until she fell straight down. It almost looked like she was playing around but then she urgently tried to get up, flapping her wings. Then all of the sudden, she stopped. She was lying there very still. My mother was in shock. What could she do? We had no idea what had happened to her. I was in shock also. 1 of our other chickens ran towards her and looked down at her. She wanted her back, pushing her beak towards the other one. It was almost like she was talking to her because she made noise. But the other chicken didn't even twitch. My mother was surprised but paralyzed at the same time. She had touched her and wiggled her but nothing. She burried her at the corner of our backyard with nothing to say. I had really wanted to know what happened to her but I had no clue. My mother had suggested she had a heart attack. But I thought it was a heat stroke. It's summer, but it was in the morning where it wasn't so hot and no other chicken was hot either. So I went online and found out that she had a heart attack. I had read somewhere "sudden death" and "heart failure" and my light bulb had lit up. I had also looked up heat stroke for hens and then I had found this website. I had read your story and was surprised. So then I decided to tell you MY story. And now, we are right back here.




The chicken that had passed away was a Red one.
The chicken who wanted her back, was a Plymouth Rock Chicken.