- Feb 27, 2017
- 90
- 25
- 116
Hello all,
We just lost our dear Vesta, a 3 year old Easter Egger. We had a really hot few days (over 90) and she didn't seem to be handling the heat well. We did our best to keep all 5 of our girls cool, they had plenty of shade, lots of cool water refreshed often, cool treats, etc. We would often find the 4 others dust bathing in the shade and she would be hiding under my car or tucked in a corner somewhere panting. When I would find her like this I would pick her up and carry her to shade and cool water. She would drink and then rest in the shade with the girls after that, but the panting didn't stop for the last 2-3 days, even as the days cooled down in the evenings. It was almost as though the heat had her disoriented or something. Anyhow, today I was away from the house (much cooler temps today, high 60's) and when I returned, I couldn't find her. The others were under the trampoline (one of their favorite shade spots) and came running when they heard me. I finally found her under our backyard tree in the shade and as I approached her she started flapping and kicking and then rolled over down the hill and was gone.
Sorry for the story, but wanted to give a little background just in case the panting and hiding in corners could be related to some other cause of death. She wasn't a great layer at 3 years old, I think we'd get about an egg every month or so from her, so I don't think she was egg bound, we just got one from her last week. I mostly want to make sure there's not some symptom I should be watching for in our other girls. TIA!
We just lost our dear Vesta, a 3 year old Easter Egger. We had a really hot few days (over 90) and she didn't seem to be handling the heat well. We did our best to keep all 5 of our girls cool, they had plenty of shade, lots of cool water refreshed often, cool treats, etc. We would often find the 4 others dust bathing in the shade and she would be hiding under my car or tucked in a corner somewhere panting. When I would find her like this I would pick her up and carry her to shade and cool water. She would drink and then rest in the shade with the girls after that, but the panting didn't stop for the last 2-3 days, even as the days cooled down in the evenings. It was almost as though the heat had her disoriented or something. Anyhow, today I was away from the house (much cooler temps today, high 60's) and when I returned, I couldn't find her. The others were under the trampoline (one of their favorite shade spots) and came running when they heard me. I finally found her under our backyard tree in the shade and as I approached her she started flapping and kicking and then rolled over down the hill and was gone.
Sorry for the story, but wanted to give a little background just in case the panting and hiding in corners could be related to some other cause of death. She wasn't a great layer at 3 years old, I think we'd get about an egg every month or so from her, so I don't think she was egg bound, we just got one from her last week. I mostly want to make sure there's not some symptom I should be watching for in our other girls. TIA!
and thanks for the ideas again. We have a smallish kids pool that sits out in the sun and gets warmer than the hose water for sure, so we will definitely try that. We're in Idaho and it seems to be alternating between thunder storms and 90 something lately. So far, so good with the other 4. They seem to be entirely normal, still keeping fingers crossed though.
