Derperella, the (weird) Faverolles, & Friends

[Nambroth]

I am so sorry about your dear Kua. It is frightening how quickly the ovarian tumors spread. Although it is fortunate that she did not suffer for long. Of course that is largely because you are so responsive to your chickens' needs. And your trusted vet makes such a hard situation at least more manageable.

Sweet Kua - her life was too short, but she was fortunate to be loved so much.

I am very thankful that the vet had the sonogram and the cost to use it was so low. The Xrays showed the mass but it was cloudy and low resolution and we were not clear on if there was fluid or not. The sonogram gave us the rest of the picture and showed clearly the tumors and how inhomogeneous (splotchy with clear tumors) her liver was and that the tumors were already all over her intestine loops. Without the sonogram I might have opted for the vet to do surgery on Kua, which only would have lead to her being put to sleep on the operating table once they discovered what was going on internally for sure. The knowledge it gave us helped us make the kindest decision for her, even though it is very hard on my heart.

 

[froggiesheins]

Poor sweet Kua left us yesterday... I am sorry I didn't post last night. The vet stayed with us very late, and after the two hour drive home, it was 11pm and I was too emotionally worn to post about it. Kua was much more ill than we thought. My vet fortunately has a sonogram machine tuned for avians and we were able to get a clear look at what was going on inside Kua. She was absolutely full of solid mass tumors (not fluid or yolks as one might see in WYP or ascites). The tumors were ovarian that just simply took over her abdomen and were already all through her liver, intestines, etc. X-rays revealed that they were already pushing her internal organs up into her chest cavity. Because they were tumors and not internal laying or ascites, there was little that could be done. We discussed options at length and the vet told me that she had seen no less than three other red production hens in the last month with this exact issue, all between 2-3 years old. On two of them the owners opted to attempt surgery and the patient had to be euthanized on the surgery table because the extent of the tumors was beyond removal. Kua was already starting to be lethargic and was not interested in food-- for the first time in her life, because she was a piggy-- and we made a very, very hard decision. It was exceptionally difficult to decide to let her go, and I am crying thinking about it. I had very high hopes that she was 'simply' laying internally, that the mass could be removed and an implant put in place to extend her life. My vet expressed that as she sees more and more chickens, that she has started to see this remarkably often in red production hens. It makes me sad to know that 'we' have bred this trait into them in our quest for the best production. I think that if someone just wants some production hens and then intends to make soup, there is nothing wrong with that. It just, frankly, sucks that production hens are so often marketed as good egg laying-pets to people that want a long lived bird. Research would prevent some of this, of course, but I know more and more people go through this and it's really heartbreaking. I know our birds live better than 90% of their sisters which end up in commercial egg farms, but it is no less sad when we lose a pet. I will make a thread in the diseases/injuries/cures thread with images from Kua's sonogram and X-rays in case it can help someone, but I need to wait a few days because it's hard to write about it right now. I will link to it for those interested once I make the thread. I am waiting on the sonogram imagery from the vet (they were very busy yesterday and stayed very late for us at no extra cost, my thanks to them). Kua, May 9th 2011 - July 14th 2014

R.I.P. sweet Kua, your life was so blessed, you had great FUD PEOPLES, a wonderful safe house to live in and MANY feathered friends to play with. May your untimely death help THE HUMANS to learn what causes this to happen. My heart goes out to you Jennifer for your HUGE loss....may she romp in heaven with Trousers.

 

[froggiesheins]

Jennifer, the drawing of Kua is SO beautiful.......... AWW HECK I am crying now too......

 

[KayTee]

R.I.P. sweet Kua, your life was so blessed, you had great FUD PEOPLES, a wonderful safe house to live in and MANY feathered friends to play with. May your untimely death help THE HUMANS to learn what causes this to happen.
My heart goes out to you Jennifer for your HUGE loss....may she romp in heaven with Trousers.

Perfectly put froggiesheins - Kua was so lucky to be part of the fud lady's flock. She does so much not only for all her chickens but also for all of us out here in BYC land. Her posts about her (sometimes awful) experiences help us to care much better for our own flocks.

Thank you for all you do for us Nambroth - we are all so sorry for your loss. (But it's nice to think that she's up there in the great big chicken palace in the sky "romping" with Trousers!)

 

[chickenneighbor]

So sorry for your loss. Hugs to your flock and the Fud Guy, too.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh, Nambroth, big hugs! I know this loss too well. I've lost so many red sexlinks to egg-related and genetic issues and it's just heartbreaking. All around 3 years old, like your vet was saying. I totally agree with you, that these birds are truly meant only for production. It's such a shame, too, because they are such personable and entertaining hens.

I hope you know you made the right choice. I don't have a vet that will see chickens and have had to make the same choice on my own too many times. I know it will hurt for a long time, but soon it will be easier to think back about her and smile at all the memories you have of her. She had a rich, happy life, more than any chicken in this world could ask for, and in the very end she didn't die alone and scared, but with her beloved fud lady who cared for her right there beside her.

 

[Nambroth]

Oh, Nambroth, big hugs!

I know this loss too well. I've lost so many red sexlinks to egg-related and genetic issues and it's just heartbreaking. All around 3 years old, like your vet was saying. I totally agree with you, that these birds are truly meant only for production. It's such a shame, too, because they are such personable and entertaining hens.

I hope you know you made the right choice. I don't have a vet that will see chickens and have had to make the same choice on my own too many times. I know it will hurt for a long time, but soon it will be easier to think back about her and smile at all the memories you have of her. She had a rich, happy life, more than any chicken in this world could ask for, and in the very end she didn't die alone and scared, but with her beloved fud lady who cared for her right there beside her.

Thank you. I agree.. I wish they would stop marketing them as pets. I mean, they do make great pets as they are often so personable and silly, and often very sweet. But the more I research it, the more it seems that it is rare when a production hen does NOT have problems.
They market them with cute names like Golden Comet and Red Star (etc) but I hope others are not fooled as I was when looking for long-lived pets: They are production hens.

But, I don't want to get too heavy, here. That is a rant for a different thread, at a different time. The Deprerella thread shouldn't be my soapbox! Instead, let's remember that we still have so many lovely feathered friends.

Here is a "Vine" I took of Derperella a few days ago. "Vines" are short, 7-second long looping videos. They can only be 7 seconds long. The little trill at the end makes me laugh each time. Derp is feeling a bit broody, lately...

(I apologize if this does not load for you!)
https://vine.co/v/MxnAgBHTIOL

 

[drumstick diva]

Oh no - not dear, beautiful Kua - so very sad. I never realized this happened to Red sex links, I thought they just stop laying early. I will no longer suggest anyone get them for any reason. Too much heartache.

 

[Suzierd]

Very sorry for your loss

 

[katbriar]

I am so sorry about your dear Kua.  It is frightening how quickly the ovarian tumors spread.  Although it is fortunate that she did not suffer for long.  Of course that is largely because you are so responsive to your chickens' needs.  And your trusted vet makes such a hard situation at least more manageable.  

Sweet Kua - her life was too short, but she was fortunate to be loved so much.

Well said.

I'm so sorry for your loss, but i recognize its your tender, good heart that makes your level of care so great and your loss the greater felt.