Chicken just suddenly died after vet injection?

[jodievaughan]

I took my chicken Pops to the vet an hour ago. She was acting very lethargic and had hardly been eating or drinking for 2 days prior. At first I didn’t worry because it happened a few weeks ago for just 1 day after a massive heatwave and then she was completely fine again until 2 days ago. She was clearly very uncomfortable and not drinking for over a day was of course really concerning to me.

So I took her to the vet this morning. The vet said she felt fluidy in her abdomen and it might’ve been a laying issue with an egg that didn’t form properly. So they gave her 3 injections - anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and calcium. I got her home and about 10 minutes after the injections, she started gasping. I didn’t have a clue what to do, and went to take her to pour water in her mouth but didn’t get the chance before her head started swinging and she flapped her wings like mad. This cream coloured liquid came out of her eyes and mouth and then she passed away.

I’m so distraught and am wondering if this was my fault.

Should I have done anything different for future reference? Should I let the other chicken who was very close with her see her body to know she’s passed or is it kinder to not let her see? Any feedback would be greatly appreaciated because I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have given her the injections in the first place. Thanks everyone

 

[Kat C]

I strongly suggest you get Gail Daemerow's book Chicken Health Handbook. In the future save yourself money and avoid the vet. From what I have seen about people taking their birds to the vets they don't seem to really know all that much about chickens. Vets are likely to try some pill or injection which might do as much harm as good. One person recently was getting treatment from a vet for Markek's when everything I have ever read said there is no treatment. As for fault, please don't do that to yourself. Domestic chickens get sick in many ways and sometimes you just can't figure it out. But if you get the above book and read it once cover to cover you will be in a better position to try figure out any future sickness. Reading it cover to cover gives you a general feel for things and then when something comes up you will know how to use to book to try figure things out. But sometimes you just can't. No fault in that, just the way things are.

As far as letting other chickens see her body, I really don't think it matters one way or another. Chickens don't seem to care or probably even have the mental capacity to care about the death of other chickens in my experience. When we have had a chicken drop dead in the coop it is not noticed by others although once we had a rooster try to mate a dead chicken. They aren't little humans or even feathered dogs or cats. I love our chickens but I don't try to layer human emotions on them.

 

[jodievaughan]

Thank you for the very kind and helpful response! I was thinking in my mind that three injections seemed like a lot but as she was the vet I thought she’d know better than me. I’ll order that book right now. And yeah you made a good point there, they probably don’t have the capacity to care much, just there are only 2 of them now, and one of them was really close with the one who just died because the other one is pretty horrible to them to be honest. Thanks again!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

I'm sorry you lost your chicken in such an upsetting way. The abdominal fluid can be a sign of a number of illnesses and they are almost all terminal, so the chances are your bird would have died anyway. Many of the causes of these illnesses are genetic, simply because chickens have been selectively bred to produce way more eggs than nature intended and their reproductive system is prone to malfunction due to over use. One thing that can add to the likelihood of some of these issues occurring is diet and when you lose one, it can be helpful to have a necropsy done to establish the cause but also to reassess your flock's diet. Heavier breeds like Orpingtons and Brahmas etc (not sure what breed your girl Pops was) can be more at risk from dietary imbalance and in particular too much carbohydrates in the diet. This can happen from feeding too many carbohydrate treats like scratch or corn or bread etc but also certain types of layer feed that are a grain mix rather than a pellet or crumble because the hens can pick their favourite bits out of the mix and like us, they find carbs attractive. Pellets or crumbles, being more processed and homogenous mean that they have to eat a balanced ration.
There is a disease called Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome where the bird's liver becomes impregnated with fat which weakens it's structure and causes it to haemorrhage and leak fluid into the abdomen. If the bird is stressed it can cause a major rupture which would result in sudden death, but the bird would die from it sooner or later anyway. I don't know if any of this is relevant and you should not blame yourself for her death as you did everything you could for her, but do have a think about what you feed your flock, as a change of diet could possibly prevent other deaths. We all like to treat our chickens but many people don't realise just how vital a balanced diet is to them. They are like top level athletes, because their bodies are working at an optimum level to produce daily eggs, so diet is very relevant to that.

 

[jodievaughan]

Thank you for such an insightful response! Honestly I stopped feeding corn years ago altogether just because of the controversy around it. They’re fed high quality, non-soy grain free pellets and occasionally some oats sprinkled in there. I have however had other people feeding them for me whenever I’m at work (only part time 9-5:30, we don’t leave food out because we live by a forest and all kinds of rodents scurry into our garden all the time) and I suspected one person was feeding them oats all the time as their treat to them although I ask to feed pellets only.. I may stop relying on others so I’m 100% sure what they’re getting. Other than that they get blueberries like 1-2 times a month and apple cider vinegar in their water.

Honestly, she was looking in a really bad shape before the injections, for example when I was opening her mouth and squirting water in to force her to drink, she swallowed and everything but her eyes were closed. Considering she’s usually a very perky active chicken, she was clearly not okay. I’ve ordered that book mentioned in the first reply and I’ll be studying illness in chickens all day no doubt. Thanks again!

 

[Kat C]

Thank you for such an insightful response! Honestly I stopped feeding corn years ago altogether just because of the controversy around it. They’re fed high quality, non-soy grain free pellets and occasionally some oats sprinkled in there. I have however had other people feeding them for me whenever I’m at work (only part time 9-5:30, we don’t leave food out because we live by a forest and all kinds of rodents scurry into our garden all the time) and I suspected one person was feeding them oats all the time as their treat to them although I ask to feed pellets only.. I may stop relying on others so I’m 100% sure what they’re getting. Other than that they get blueberries like 1-2 times a month and apple cider vinegar in their water.

Honestly, she was looking in a really bad shape before the injections, for example when I was opening her mouth and squirting water in to force her to drink, she swallowed and everything but her eyes were closed. Considering she’s usually a very perky active chicken, she was clearly not okay. I’ve ordered that book mentioned in the first reply and I’ll be studying illness in chickens all day no doubt. Thanks again!

You are most welcome.
I recommend that you add greens to your feed. Our chickens (74 right now with our new chicks) get several gallons of greens a day (I grow sorrel for them but also feed wild greens). And most days they get a hopper of mowed lawn to pic through. They are free range on 1/4 acre (electric netting fence confines them but most importantly keeps out predators). But they have decimated the greens on their yard. In season I give them lambs quarters greens, chickweed, dock, etc. When I have more they eat it all up. In winter I grow winter wheat and harvest it with scissors . They NEED greens. It helps make the yolks bright yellow (and more nutritious) and it provides a lot of extra nutrients. I would give them some sort of fruit every day if you have extra. We give ours banana peels....they love them, fight over them.
Why not pre measure what you want fed to your chickens each day and give the person who helps you just what you want fed out.
Are your birds getting grit to help them digest the oats?

 

[jodievaughan]

Thank you very much for that! Do I need to dry out greens for them? I do see them eating a lot of grass, they roam on just under an acre, but I don’t notice them touching the other greens theatre in the field. I’ll collect some up and try it out. I do actually pre-prepare the pellets in their trays which is how I figured they’re often not getting what I’ve asked for, since it doesn’t seem to have gone down in quantity.. I’ll maybe just mention it once we’ve moved on from this sad event, I’m not about to make anyone feel bad I’ll look into finding some other fruits for them too, they’re unbelivably picky, I once bought the most expensive bag of pellets in the store, they were organic, and they wouldn’t touch them - typical! but blueberries have always been a winner so I tended to stick with them, apples and pears. I’ve tried hard to make them eat grit, I’ve even ground it into tiny pieces, added it into their pellets and mashed up with a bit of water and they still won’t have any of it. Hence why im funny about them only getting a small amount of oats.

 

[Kat C]

Oh if your chickens roam on an acre they find the grit they need unless all the soil is hard packed. But I assume that they scratch up things some. If they don't turn some dirt for them. They should find bugs in it as well as grit . I have chickens that follow me around anytime I pick up a shovel. Grit last a long time in the gizzard so they don't need to resupply much. They need whole stones. Adult birds based on when we slaughter roosters pick stone about maybe 3/16 inches. A picture here http://solraya.blogspot.com/2011/04/gizzard-of-pastured-chicken.html They have to be big enough to be stopped by the outflow hole as they need to stay in the gizzard. Places sell granite grit but our chickens prefer quartz. Its all I have ever found in a gizzard. We keep a few rapist roosters in pens (saving to use for breeding) and I hunt some quartz pieces for them every few months or so. Oyster shell is not hard grit and only serves to provide calcium, not grinding. Our chickens prefer dried crushed egg shells to oyster shells but will eat the oyster shells if they need more calcium. Sending eggs to others loses some of the calcium we recycle in egg shells.

Two chickens on a acre are getting a lot of grass. I don't think they get as much nutrition out of grass as other greens but they get some. Sorrel is our main green because it is easy to grow and we eat a lot of it too. They also get Kale, Collards, broccoli leaves, mustard, beet leaves, turnip leaves and cooked turnips, whatever I have excess of in the garden. I feed it fresh. While ours will tear them up I do chop it so it gets better distributed and all eaten. It can take a while to introduce a new food. With as many chickens as we have there are a few that are more adventurous and they get the others going after a while. We moved 2 years ago and now have a kudzu patch on our property. Kudzu is high in protein. Took about a week but now they will tear that up quite well. I weight some stems down with stones to help the process.

When I have it I feed tomatoes (they love them), cukes, the ends from squash, Pumpkin seeds, cooked pumpkin flesh, the seeds and pulp from cantaloupe. When we were younger we dumpster dived and gave them even more of all of that. Lettuce is liked but iceberg lettuce is not very nutritious. Shredded carrot will be eaten by some. Potatoes are supposed not OK for chickens, pretty much everything else is if they will eat it. This site says Potatoes are OK, just not green peels https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/7-surprising-rules-for-feeding-chickens/

Some people sprout wheat, oats etc for their chickens which makes them more digestible and nutritious http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/sprouting-grains-for-chickens-fodder/

I have just begun fermenting our feed (a mix of whole grains) and like the results and so do the chickens. Info here if you want to look into it https://tikktok.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fermented-feed-faq/