Caroline, Sweet Caroline (Update, Post 21, Feb 27)

[speckledhen]

Caroline, my last hatchery hen, is now 7 years old, this month in fact. No hatchery hen of mine has ever lived to this age. January was the month of her hatch and it appears it may be the month of her death as well. Her crop has been progressively more pendulous and sluggish over the past year or so. We have provided multiple daily crop massages, but here are masses in there that seem to be hard as petrified wood, perhaps tumors and not food at all, masses we cannot break up. We try to push enough food through to make sure she gets nutrition daily, but she is losing weight.

For two days now, she has ceased standing guard over arthritic Amanda, her usual job she took upon herself, and is standing alone, in an upright position, as if it's hard for her to breathe. Her eyes look tired and sunken. My husband massages her crop and places her under a heat lamp we have in there mainly because of Amanda's arthritis. Funny and strange thing is, Caroline laid an egg two days ago. Caroline has not laid one egg in almost two years until that day. I bet coming into lay again in this bone-chilling winter is stressing her system critically, especially as she fights her pendulous crop. We adore Caroline, the queen of everything around here, the one who takes over any flock she is put into, the one who takes no guff off anyone, even bossy old Amanda. She's a tough old woman, but her time is near. She and her late sister, Miranda, made me love the Brahma breed. They're strong, lay nice large roundish eggs, take heat or cold equally well, have friendly, but not irritatingly clingy personalities, and they're just plain beautiful hens. When we must hatch to replace hens gone on to their final rest, we will hatch, among the Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, some Brahmas.

Beautiful, sweet, tough Queen Caroline:




Back in 2011:

 

[b.hromada]

Awwww. Caroline is a gorgeous girl. I so hate to watch them wither away,

but this is life, and it sure does hurt a lot. Here's a hug, I hope it helps a little bit.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Thank you so much, Hannah. I'm so very sorry for your losses as well. We do our best, don't we? But we can't work magic. It is what it is. We do our best for them and hope to ease their exit from this life to whatever extent we are able.

Amen indeed. I wish I had not lost my girls, but I did. It cant be helped now. All I can do is...

Look forward to heart-healing spring chickies.

 

[speckledhen]

Update on our Caroline. She seems to be doing somewhat better, due to daily multiple crop massages, but the main update is to let you know what an amazing head hen she is. This morning she proved that to us yet again.

Poor old Amanda's arthritis has gotten much worse this winter, so much so that she rarely goes outside the coop anymore. She can barely stand to eat and drink, but she's still plugging along, even started laying again day before yesterday. Caroline has not resumed her supervision of Amanda, however, because she is tending to Fern, my 4 1/2 yr old BR hen who is dying. Fern has only a few days, at best. In fact, we may end up euthanizing her in the next day or so. She weighs no more than an 8 week old chick and her comb is shrunken and blackish. She was my very best layer for almost 4 years, then suddenly, she bloated up and the downward spiral began. We did penicillin once, but though she seemed to rally for a time, it wasn't working in the end.
Today, my DH took Fern the rest of his breakfast, one of her favorites, grits mixed with fried eggs. He separated her so she could eat if she wanted to do so. She has little to no appetite now and though it won't help her to eat, he wants to make her more comfortable. She picked at it and turned away so he sat the bowl in front of Amanda and Caroline, who both began eating. They love this concoction, too, like most of my birds.
Fern then walked slowly over to them, between them and began eating. Now, usually this would have been met with a thunk on the head from both of them, since Fern is way down in the hierarchy of that coop, but neither turned her away. Both allowed her to eat out of the same bowl. Then, Caroline looked deeply into Fern's face and backed away from the bowl, giving her portion to Fern, watching her eat.

You may say Caroline had eaten all she wanted (never likely with Caroline), but you'd be wrong. I've seen Caroline perform this same act once before, a year and a half ago, when her Light Brahma "sister", Miranda, was dying of cancer. DH had taken a plate of eggs to the two Brahmas to eat alone. Miranda's appetite had waned as she got weaker, but she began eating. Caroline backed away from the plate and circled Miranda. She'd walk one complete circle, look at Miranda's face, then if Miranda was still eating, she walk around her another time. She did this four or five times. Not until Miranda had quit eating and walked away from the plate, did Caroline go to the plate and start eating herself. I am always impressed by acts I've seen performed by head hens as others in the flock are dying.

I've watched second-in-command hens preside over the passing of the head hen, then go on to become the next head hen, then have that same process repeated when they themselves are dying. I've watched the head hen do as Caroline is doing now, even when they themselves are not well. Chickens are not stupid animals. They are dignified and intelligent and they do show emotion, if you care to see it.

 

[Suzierd]

Caroline Is a beautiful hen, I hope she snaps out of it and gets better. Maybe if the weather would get better.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Its hard to see a beloved hen decline. Caroline is beautiful, she reminds me of my Buff Brahma. The really are a sweet breed.

 

[speckledhen]

That particular coop may see multiple losses before winter is over. Fern, my former best layer, seems to be suffering from EYP or internal laying, not sure which. One round of penicillin a few weeks ago seemed to help a little, but she relapsed, and now, stands around hunched up with a dark comb. Or maybe her heart is just failing, hard to say. Her daughter, Barbara, who is only a few months younger than she is, has a hard abdomen as well.

That is the retirement coop, so it's full of older hens, 5-7 years old. There are 9 hens in it, but that number may be cut in half by the time spring gets here, the way they're looking. At some point, I might be able to consolidate Suede's hens and their banty Cochin rooster (they think he's an irritating toy) with this group in the larger side. Caroline and Meg, who is also 7 years old, are too dominant and a fight between them would result in one of them, probably Caroline, dropping dead on the spot, so one of those two hens must not be here to integrate the two groups.

 

[speckledhen]

Lost Barbara today from that coop. Her abdomen was hard and she apparently had fluid filled lungs. She died a few minutes ago. She was a BR, only 4 years old, a small hen who laid huge eggs. I think that might have done her in.

RIP, Wonky Little Barbara

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Sorry about little Barbara. I had a hen who lived longer than I expected with EYP, but sadly such a condition takes a hen down eventually.

 

[speckledhen]

Sorry about little Barbara. I had a hen who lived longer than I expected with EYP, but sadly such a condition takes a hen down eventually.

That is very true. Happened here more than I care to remember. Barbara was the 2nd generation from the hatchery, but I think it had something to do with one of her huge eggs, maybe it dropped into the abdomen, something I've seen before in a hen who laid humongous eggs. Anyway, there was nothing we could do. She was just a funny little hen, sweet as she could be. We'll miss her.