- Jul 24, 2011
- 20
- 0
- 22
what killed my prize chicken?
even though she never won any prizes, she won my heart. she was one of three that i kept at my house (as opposed to 'the farm'), and she was the tamest of the three. she was also the most plump, which probably delayed my detection of her illness.
she had blood shot eyes and a swollen belly, and was very apathetic. she wouldnt even come down from the sleeping room until lunchtime, well after the other two had woken up. she would eat, but not do anything afterwards.
she died about 4 days after i noticed she was sick. it was getting a lot colder so i had put her in the house with the heater on low.
being the mad scientist type, i performed an autopsy on her to try to understand what had happened. i have slaughtered many chooks so i figured i might spot something unusual with her. when i cut her belly open it was full of fluid, and i have never seen that in the birds i have killed and bled. one other thing that stood out was the purple flesh; i thought that it might be purple because she died naturaly (not bled out hung upside down like the 'common' chooks), but i have come to think that the purple meat is a symptom... all the meat we would normally eat was a dark purple colour.
i have watched the other two closely, and they show no signs of illness at all. this story is in fact from last year, and i have a solitary chick, which i believe is hers, who is growing stronger every day. the other two attacked the chick when it escaped from the chibi coop one day, and it stood up to them and now eats with them every day, even though it is just over 2 months old. do chickens have karma?
one more thing of possible relevance is that i used to get strange eggs, shaped like soft cream ice cream, whirls and pointy bits, with obviously misshapen shells. i havent had one since she passed, although i regularly get double yolk huge eggs.
if i had any interest in chicken shows, she would have been world number 1.
even though she never won any prizes, she won my heart. she was one of three that i kept at my house (as opposed to 'the farm'), and she was the tamest of the three. she was also the most plump, which probably delayed my detection of her illness.
she had blood shot eyes and a swollen belly, and was very apathetic. she wouldnt even come down from the sleeping room until lunchtime, well after the other two had woken up. she would eat, but not do anything afterwards.
she died about 4 days after i noticed she was sick. it was getting a lot colder so i had put her in the house with the heater on low.
being the mad scientist type, i performed an autopsy on her to try to understand what had happened. i have slaughtered many chooks so i figured i might spot something unusual with her. when i cut her belly open it was full of fluid, and i have never seen that in the birds i have killed and bled. one other thing that stood out was the purple flesh; i thought that it might be purple because she died naturaly (not bled out hung upside down like the 'common' chooks), but i have come to think that the purple meat is a symptom... all the meat we would normally eat was a dark purple colour.
i have watched the other two closely, and they show no signs of illness at all. this story is in fact from last year, and i have a solitary chick, which i believe is hers, who is growing stronger every day. the other two attacked the chick when it escaped from the chibi coop one day, and it stood up to them and now eats with them every day, even though it is just over 2 months old. do chickens have karma?
one more thing of possible relevance is that i used to get strange eggs, shaped like soft cream ice cream, whirls and pointy bits, with obviously misshapen shells. i havent had one since she passed, although i regularly get double yolk huge eggs.
if i had any interest in chicken shows, she would have been world number 1.
