2 yr old chicken hasn't laid in 7 months and other problems...?

[AaronK]

Hmm. Do you have any suggestions about how to do it safely? I'm worried about poking something vital

 

[speckledhen]

With the ones I drained, I just went to the largest area away from the vital organs would be and poked the needle in. It's sort of intuitive. Maybe look at a diagram of where the organs are and then visualize where the safest place would be, away from the vent, sort of where the abdomen rounds downward, around to the back of the leg is where I would always try. Sometimes, we would have to move the needle to a slightly different location and then we'd hit a good pocket.

 

[AaronK]

No very big changes either way in the past few days, will have to see how things keep progressing. I'm still hesitant to drain her, since I definitely don't want to cause further damage. anyway, thanks for all your advice, Cynthia!

 

[AaronK]

Well, sad news. We had to put Henny Penny down. A couple days ago she was looking in very bad shape - very swollen abdomen and her feathers were all wet. Apparently she couldnt even make it up the stairs to roost the night before and got rained on. Poor thing. We tried to get fluid out of her, but without much luck - and I didn't want to poke around too much or too deeply in there since I dont really know what I'm doing. Anyway, we thought it would be best for her to put her out of her misery, so we had the vet put her down.

I know it's bad to get attached to livestock, but this chicken was really something special. Exceptionally docile, inquisitive, spunky, and just a great personality. She will be greatly missed. Rest in peace, Henny Penny.

thanks again cynthia for your counseling. it probably gave her several weeks of a relatively better life than she would have had otherwise.