Aquaticember06
In the Brooder
- Nov 19, 2022
- 4
- 12
- 24
I hate for this to be my first post but we desperately need some advice.
We had the coop catch fire this morning. I smelled it before I saw smoke. I didn’t get out there to let them out at my usual time because I’ve been sick and I have vertigo. By the time we got out there, one of our four girls was already dead. Two left of their own power when I opened the door and one I had to pull out myself. She also walked away but then planted herself where she felt safest and did not move after.
A sparrow had gotten in there overnight and our flock leader, French Fry, must have been chasing it to kill it and knocked down the heat lamp. It caught fire to the pine bedding but that stuff doesn’t easily go up in flames. It smoldered and created tons of smoke and now my remaining three are wheezing and sneezing.
I have one (Nugget) who if I couldn’t hear her wheezing on every breath I’d swear nothing had happened. She’s walking around the yard, scratching for food. The second (Milkshake) was walking around and pecking too… but then found a safe place and parked herself. She’s fairly alert and fluttered to get out of my arms when I picked her up. I think she’s traumatized. We have a big dog cage that was previously used as quarantine for a duck with bumble foot so I put Milkshake in there in the shed with the door open for airflow, but it’s slightly warmer in there than it is outside. Finally I have the third (Burger) in a box in the house with me. She was the worst of them, extending her neck and wheezing on every breath. I’ve used a syringe to get her to drink slowly, approximately 16ml, and in the time since the fire she has stopped extending her neck on every breath, but the wheezing in still very much there. I think she’s tired. She has settled in and closed her eyes. She perks up every time one of my cats comes to investigate.
Edit: I had to pause in writing to take care of them. We buried French Fry at the back of the yard (I couldn’t bear to eat any of them. They’re more pets than livestock to me).
I know I should be counting my blessings. There were never any live flames. None of the three left are singed or have external burns. They sound terrible and are wheezing but now we’re 3 hours past when we pulled them out and all three have eaten and had water on their own volition.
I guess my question is this: What do I need to do to support them now that they’re out and alert? I read in another post about mixing electrolytes into their water and I’m pretty sure I still have a few of those packets. We aren’t in a place right now where we are able to take them to the vet, but I happily welcome all suggestions for keeping them safe and comfortable. Are there emergency signs I should watch for?
I’ll also take any advice about winterizing their run/hen house that doesn’t involve a heat source they can knock over. We’re actually considering flipping them into the smaller duck run/house since Milkshake seemed so traumatized. The ducks wouldn’t mind switching, although it would take practice for all of them to get used to the trade.
We have several tarps, a roll of old housing insulation that my dad gave us (I want to say it’s about five/six feet long), and of course pine shavings. I know that ventilation is crucial so I won’t be sealing them in or anything… I just want to keep them warm enough that they are okay this winter. Is it better to put a heat source in where they are or deal with possible frostbite later in the season? I really would appreciate any knowledge anyone can offer on this.
We had the coop catch fire this morning. I smelled it before I saw smoke. I didn’t get out there to let them out at my usual time because I’ve been sick and I have vertigo. By the time we got out there, one of our four girls was already dead. Two left of their own power when I opened the door and one I had to pull out myself. She also walked away but then planted herself where she felt safest and did not move after.
A sparrow had gotten in there overnight and our flock leader, French Fry, must have been chasing it to kill it and knocked down the heat lamp. It caught fire to the pine bedding but that stuff doesn’t easily go up in flames. It smoldered and created tons of smoke and now my remaining three are wheezing and sneezing.
I have one (Nugget) who if I couldn’t hear her wheezing on every breath I’d swear nothing had happened. She’s walking around the yard, scratching for food. The second (Milkshake) was walking around and pecking too… but then found a safe place and parked herself. She’s fairly alert and fluttered to get out of my arms when I picked her up. I think she’s traumatized. We have a big dog cage that was previously used as quarantine for a duck with bumble foot so I put Milkshake in there in the shed with the door open for airflow, but it’s slightly warmer in there than it is outside. Finally I have the third (Burger) in a box in the house with me. She was the worst of them, extending her neck and wheezing on every breath. I’ve used a syringe to get her to drink slowly, approximately 16ml, and in the time since the fire she has stopped extending her neck on every breath, but the wheezing in still very much there. I think she’s tired. She has settled in and closed her eyes. She perks up every time one of my cats comes to investigate.
Edit: I had to pause in writing to take care of them. We buried French Fry at the back of the yard (I couldn’t bear to eat any of them. They’re more pets than livestock to me).
I know I should be counting my blessings. There were never any live flames. None of the three left are singed or have external burns. They sound terrible and are wheezing but now we’re 3 hours past when we pulled them out and all three have eaten and had water on their own volition.
I guess my question is this: What do I need to do to support them now that they’re out and alert? I read in another post about mixing electrolytes into their water and I’m pretty sure I still have a few of those packets. We aren’t in a place right now where we are able to take them to the vet, but I happily welcome all suggestions for keeping them safe and comfortable. Are there emergency signs I should watch for?
I’ll also take any advice about winterizing their run/hen house that doesn’t involve a heat source they can knock over. We’re actually considering flipping them into the smaller duck run/house since Milkshake seemed so traumatized. The ducks wouldn’t mind switching, although it would take practice for all of them to get used to the trade.
We have several tarps, a roll of old housing insulation that my dad gave us (I want to say it’s about five/six feet long), and of course pine shavings. I know that ventilation is crucial so I won’t be sealing them in or anything… I just want to keep them warm enough that they are okay this winter. Is it better to put a heat source in where they are or deal with possible frostbite later in the season? I really would appreciate any knowledge anyone can offer on this.