A Bielefelder Thread !

[otakalhasas]

To everyone who has been so supportive, Strudel died in my arms about 30 minutes ago. She was still stretching out her throat to breath, and then started to gag. When I lowered her so that her mouth could drain onto the towel in my lap, fluid ran out. This happened several times. The last time I tipped her head down, she suddenly shuddered and went completely limp. I am very sad because she is a chick that I hatched - the very first hatch.

I hope that I didn't do anything to cause her death. Did I give her meds that went down the wrong way? Did I exacerbate the situation? Should I not have put her head down?

As with all things, I did the best that I could.

Oh, I am so, so sorry. God speed, dear little Strudel. I don't think it is anything you did, it was just her time.

 

[Sylvester017]

To everyone who has been so supportive, Strudel died in my arms about 30 minutes ago. She was still stretching out her throat to breath, and then started to gag. When I lowered her so that her mouth could drain onto the towel in my lap, fluid ran out. This happened several times. The last time I tipped her head down, she suddenly shuddered and went completely limp. I am very sad because she is a chick that I hatched - the very first hatch.

I hope that I didn't do anything to cause her death. Did I give her meds that went down the wrong way? Did I exacerbate the situation? Should I not have put her head down?

As with all things, I did the best that I could.

How terrible! We lost a 21-day-old chick - our first and last since I won't do chicks again. A sudden seizure and gasp in the palm of DH's hand and gone in an instant. Hindsight unfortunately never gives us any answers. Comfort is all we can offer them sometimes

 

[DesertChic]

To everyone who has been so supportive, Strudel died in my arms about 30 minutes ago. She was still stretching out her throat to breath, and then started to gag. When I lowered her so that her mouth could drain onto the towel in my lap, fluid ran out. This happened several times. The last time I tipped her head down, she suddenly shuddered and went completely limp. I am very sad because she is a chick that I hatched - the very first hatch.

I hope that I didn't do anything to cause her death. Did I give her meds that went down the wrong way? Did I exacerbate the situation? Should I not have put her head down?

As with all things, I did the best that I could.

Oh no! I'm so sorry.

You did the best you could for her. Don't second guess yourself. That only leads to a downward spiral of self-doubt. Trust me, I've been there. At least you can take comfort in the fact that she's no longer suffering.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Oh no! I'm so sorry.

You did the best you could for her. Don't second guess yourself. That only leads to a downward spiral of self-doubt. Trust me, I've been there. At least you can take comfort in the fact that she's no longer suffering.

Thank you @DesertChic , @otakalhasas , @Sylvester017 . The reason I wonder about causing something is mainly because I don't want to repeat a mistake if I did make one.

This is a vastly different experience than the first two 8 week old chicks I lost. The first disappeared - probably a hawk. The secon was found on it's back on top of the compost heap. At first I suspected my cat, but then realized it was definitely a hawk. The third hawk attack happened when DH was home, and he went charging down to the run and rescued Choti - the light Brahma. She was pretty badly injured, but the vet gave her subcutaneous fluids, and I nursed her back.

The chick that I found on the compost heap was when I lost it. You would have thought that I lost one of my children- which is a gross exaggeration but I cried forever.

This is different. The other day my DH commented that it wasn't the same at the coop because there were so many birds. The original ones were pets, with names and personalities that he knew. Strudel was not that way to him...it is true that a few of the teenagers have no names, so I get it.

Unfortuantely, Choti is one of the seriously ill hens. I will bring her in tonight, along with Buffy. Back on the sofa making sure that they stay hydrated overnight.

Wish me luck - you do learn something from every event whether positive or negative.

 

[DesertChic]

Thank you @DesertChic , @otakalhasas , @Sylvester017 . The reason I wonder about causing something is mainly because I don't want to repeat a mistake if I did make one.

This is a vastly different experience than the first two 8 week old chicks I lost. The first disappeared - probably a hawk. The secon was found on it's back on top of the compost heap. At first I suspected my cat, but then realized it was definitely a hawk. The third hawk attack happened when DH was home, and he went charging down to the run and rescued Choti - the light Brahma. She was pretty badly injured, but the vet gave her subcutaneous fluids, and I nursed her back.

The chick that I found on the compost heap was when I lost it. You would have thought that I lost one of my children- which is a gross exaggeration but I cried forever.

This is different. The other day my DH commented that it wasn't the same at the coop because there were so many birds. The original ones were pets, with names and personalities that he knew. Strudel was not that way to him...it is true that a few of the teenagers have no names, so I get it.

Unfortuantely, Choti is one of the seriously ill hens. I will bring her in tonight, along with Buffy. Back on the sofa making sure that they stay hydrated overnight.

Wish me luck - you do learn something from every event whether positive or negative.

I understand completely. When my much adored EE was dying I was a wreck for weeks, and then it came time to put her out of her misery and I just couldn't do it. She had a tumor in her brain that rendered her blind in both eyes. She was the sweetest little girl and I poured everything I had into helping her until it became abundantly clear that it would be cruel to prolong her life. Thankfully my husband performed the culling on that one, but I was a soggy mess for a couple days and felt like an utter failure for not being able to cure her.

I really hope your other birds manage to recover from whatever they are suffering from.

 

[Coop de Grass]

I understand completely. When my much adored EE was dying I was a wreck for weeks, and then it came time to put her out of her misery and I just couldn't do it. She had a tumor in her brain that rendered her blind in both eyes. She was the sweetest little girl and I poured everything I had into helping her until it became abundantly clear that it would be cruel to prolong her life. Thankfully my husband performed the culling on that one, but I was a soggy mess for a couple days and felt like an utter failure for not being able to cure her.

I really hope your other birds manage to recover from whatever they are suffering from.

too!

for your EE.

 

[chickendreams24]

I'm so sorry for all of your losses. I just want to say that you're not alone I too cry for my flock and last weekend I spent all weekend trying to assist chicks that were eggs I had opened to eggtopsy. Thankfully just the aircell ends. No veins visible candling at all, but they all had massive veins when opened. Only one pipped and it turned and died in the night. The rest were very very close but in the end they all died in the night before absorbing their blood and most before their yolks. A couple seemed to have eyp. I wept and might have thrown my incubator awY but for the staggered hatch I'm doing the rest of the eggs seem much much better so far. There are two eggs left due this weekend but I don't have much hope for them either as they were also subjected to the horribly high temps that I believe caused the other eggs to die.

We have been very blessed otherwise. I'll be praying for your flocks and hoping they get well. Don't blame yourself. You did what you could.

 

[UGLYFOOT]

To everyone who has been so supportive, Strudel died in my arms about 30 minutes ago. She was still stretching out her throat to breath, and then started to gag. When I lowered  her so that her mouth could drain onto the towel in my lap, fluid ran out. This happened several times. The last time I tipped her head down, she suddenly shuddered and went completely limp. I am very sad because she is a chick that I hatched - the very first hatch. 

I hope that I didn't do anything to cause her death. Did I give her meds that went down the wrong way? Did I exacerbate the situation? Should I not have put her head down? 

As with all things, I did the best that I could. 

Awww I am sorry for your loss. It sounds like you were doing everything you could. Don't be hard on yourself.

 

[Saris]

for those with ill or lost chickens.

 

[Cynthia12]

I swear by Denagard. I use it as a preventive. Have done so for yrs. I was looking for a certain thread that talks about it. Couldn't find it. I would treat all of you birds with it. I had a problem like this yrs ago, that's when I read here on BYC how well this works. I just bought another bottle, spendy, but worth the money. It lasts for yrs. Even with me using it in the spring and fall. It's been a good 3 yrs...knock on wood, that I have had a problem with upper respiratory. No withhold on eggs..we eat the eggs while they are being treated. Also, have done for 3 yrs. It will take a while to get this, if you decide to buy it..you can only find it online. Amazon has it. Good luck. Try and keep your sick birds separated. It spreads pretty fast. Plus, once they have it, the chicken is a carrier for life.

Sad, but true. If you decide to sell your chicken that has been ill, then got well, the folks should know that this bird is a carrier. Only fair. Maybe you can keep them forever. I really hope you can get them well. So sorry that you lost your girl. It's hard. Like I said, I've been where you are. So hard.