Chicken died while we were trimming her nails :(

[azygous]

Chickens breathe just fine on their backs. They do not breathe with their lungs. Air sacs throughout their bodies distribute oxygen to tissues and organs.

I just had five chickens on their backs on my work bench yesterday while treating them for external parasites, and there was not a single sudden death.

There are plenty of things that can kill your chickens. Being put on their backs for a period of maintenance isn't one of them.

 

[brendalwelch]

Chickens breathe just fine on their backs. They do not breathe with their lungs. Air sacs throughout their bodies distribute oxygen to tissues and organs.

I just had five chickens on their backs on my work bench yesterday while treating them for external parasites, and there was not a single sudden death.

There are plenty of things that can kill your chickens. Being put on their backs for a period of maintenance isn't one of them.

Definitely conflicting information on this thread. I agree with you though - I’ve had chickens on their backs before that didn’t die and this one had other underlying issues happening so who knows. I think I’ll still play it safe next time during maintenance and have my daughter hold him like a football for nail trims. Thank you for your input!

 

[azygous]

Definitely conflicting information on this thread.

And conflicting information is what happens on internet discussion boards. The BYC site has a couple of ways to help weed out erroneous and incorrect information.

One is the label stating the number of years a member has been contributing to this site. That goes directly to experience and exposure to discussing chicken issues.

The other, even better screening device is the social badges awarded to members that have participated to an outsized degree. The badge that says "Educator" is the best one to sort out from the replies on a thread because it's only awarded by BYC staff after years of very careful screening of the member's history of comments and their accuracy of information. This isn't to say that posts by others not so badged are not valuable and extremely helpful in many cases, but the black badge is a very nice little shortcut to determining validity and value of a member's suggestions, guidance, and information.

 

[azygous]

Getting back to whether or not a chicken is likely to die from being placed on their backs for treatment and maintenance, one such occasion of placing a chicken on its back is when surgery is required.

Crop surgery is a very common type of surgery in small backyard flocks that is most often performed by the chicken keeper, not a vet. We will place the chicken on its back drape a cloth over its eyes to calm them, and proceed cutting open the crop and cleaning it out, then closing the incision, all requiring the better part of an hour.

I have yet to hear of a chicken dying during surgery because they couldn't breathe while on their back.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Hi all,
We are devastated... we noticed that one of our backyard chickens, Pancake (just turned three years old), had long nails and she was having trouble getting in & out in the coop so we read about trimming her nails. I thought that the fact that she had longer nails indicated that she wasn't doing her usual scratch & peck. She was also appearing lethargic & panting so we caught her to check her out. My 14 year old daughter laid her on her back in the grass (to calm her) and we noticed poopy butt. I worked on cleaning her nails so I could see the quick in order to trim her nails. She tolerated being on her back for a few minutes (she's been handled quite a bit) but started to kick with her feet. Ultimately she started making a squeaking noise and when we thought she might be in distress, we brought her up right but she was dying. And she died right then. She was only flat on her back for a few minutes and we can't figure out what happened but we wonder if she suffocated somehow or we just exacerbated whatever condition was troubling her. Thoughts, please! We feel terrible!

Brenda I'm so sorry for your loss. It's hard when they die when you're messing with them.I agree she was in the way out already.
I had one hen I was able to finally pick up to inspect and she took a couple of gasps then died my arms. Looked like a chicken scene in a cartoon. But she was failing before I held her. The little buggers melt your heart though.

 

[brendalwelch]

And conflicting information is what happens on internet discussion boards. The BYC site has a couple of ways to help weed out erroneous and incorrect information.

One is the label stating the number of years a member has been contributing to this site. That goes directly to experience and exposure to discussing chicken issues.

The other, even better screening device is the social badges awarded to members that have participated to an outsized degree. The badge that says "Educator" is the best one to sort out from the replies on a thread because it's only awarded by BYC staff after years of very careful screening of the member's history of comments and their accuracy of information. This isn't to say that posts by others not so badged are not valuable and extremely helpful in many cases, but the black badge is a very nice little shortcut to determining validity and value of a member's suggestions, guidance, and information.

Super helpful, thanks!

 

[brendalwelch]

Super helpful, thanks!

I'm Chirping! LOL

 

[brendalwelch]

Getting back to whether or not a chicken is likely to die from being placed on their backs for treatment and maintenance, one such occasion of placing a chicken on its back is when surgery is required.

Crop surgery is a very common type of surgery in small backyard flocks that is most often performed by the chicken keeper, not a vet. We will place the chicken on its back drape a cloth over its eyes to calm them, and proceed cutting open the crop and cleaning it out, then closing the incision, all requiring the better part of an hour.

I have yet to hear of a chicken dying during surgery because they couldn't breathe while on their back.

These posts are helping me feel better, thank you!

 

[Weeg]

Definitely conflicting information on this thread. I agree with you though - I’ve had chickens on their backs before that didn’t die and this one had other underlying issues happening so who knows. I think I’ll still play it safe next time during maintenance and have my daughter hold him like a football for nail trims. Thank you for your input!

@azygous is a much more experienced member than a lot who have posted. Everyone on here has a valuable opinion, but @azygous knows more than a simple google search. I would take her word over anyone else. You did nothing to cause the death of this bird, you were only trying to help.