My Buff Orpington, Rose was the most beautiful hen I've ever owned. Her rich yellow feathers shone so beautifully in the sun, and she had the sweetest disposition. When I sat outside with my flock, she would either and jump in my lap, or stretch her neck over my knee, waiting to be stroked. I had a flock of 6 hens, but she was by far my favorite!
She was only about a year old, when tragedy struck. I'll never forget, and it has taught me a valuable lesson....
It was a normal chilly day in November, when I noticed that she would just lay on the ground in the middle of the run, and wouldn't get up. I examined her and could not find anything amiss. A few hours later, she lay in a corner on her side. I was so worried about her. Quickly, I gently picked her up, but she was lethargic and floppy in my arms.
I tried to give her some medicine, but she would just spit it back up again. She then started to convulse and flap her wings violently as if she was poisoned! I was so distraught! Sadly, within a few minutes, she passed away. I had no idea what could have happened to her. Afterwards, I went and checked the coop thoroughly, and saw something I didn't notice before: In the corner of the coop, was a thick, sticky spiders web, with it's occupant, a large black widow bouncing uneasily on top of it. As the winter months were fast approaching, spiders sought for someplace warm to build their webs, and my chicken coop was a target. As I dusted out the web, and disposed of the spider, I thought maybe Rose was bitten by a Black Widow! I researched the symptoms of spider bites in chickens, and found out that listlessness, convulsions, and sudden death were all apart of it.
I then came across an article where Benadryl could help when situations like these arise. She must have had an allergic reaction to the bite, and it was more than she could handle.
A few months later, one of my other hens, a Black Australorp started showing the same symptoms as Rose did. So I quickly gave her the right dose of Benadryl. It of course, made her sleepy, so I kept her quarantined from the other hens, by keeping her inside until she improved. Within a couple days, she started perking up and acting like her usual self again!
So through the death of my favorite hen, I learned a cure for the rest of the flock, should they ever start having symptoms of an allergic reaction to insect bites!
