Things Yet to Be
In the Brooder
- Nov 7, 2023
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Hello all,
A while ago, my chickens and other poultry were being harassed by members of the canine group, and on three occasions I had come to find my birds in the drooling mouth of a dog and after chasing and rescuing my chicken from fate, I could clearly see they were in a shock. This is what it looks like; breathing heavily and perhaps closing the eyes sporadically for very short moments at a time, completely laying down, and not moving much at all while she appears weak... and of course her feathers were are a mess, most of which were loose from the stress.
Say a hawk swoops down and grabs your bird, but you see it in time to spook the raptor away, and save your chicken, well, in instances like this, the chicken will be in shock. Even if she looks like she's gonna be fine after she catches her breath, the reality is her heart is in overtime and after an hour or two she might have what seems to me to be heart failure. This has happened thrice times, though luckily, two of the hens were okay after being placed in a warm (not too warm!) dark, quiet box. We all know chickens sleep when in a dark place because their brains shut down halfway, is what I heard, and my reasoning is that this must help with coping with the stress of, whatever happened that is.
So if your chicken or such is in a shock after being close to their fate, immediately put them in a comfortable place that is dark, and warm.
Hope this helps someone!
-TYtB.
A while ago, my chickens and other poultry were being harassed by members of the canine group, and on three occasions I had come to find my birds in the drooling mouth of a dog and after chasing and rescuing my chicken from fate, I could clearly see they were in a shock. This is what it looks like; breathing heavily and perhaps closing the eyes sporadically for very short moments at a time, completely laying down, and not moving much at all while she appears weak... and of course her feathers were are a mess, most of which were loose from the stress.
Say a hawk swoops down and grabs your bird, but you see it in time to spook the raptor away, and save your chicken, well, in instances like this, the chicken will be in shock. Even if she looks like she's gonna be fine after she catches her breath, the reality is her heart is in overtime and after an hour or two she might have what seems to me to be heart failure. This has happened thrice times, though luckily, two of the hens were okay after being placed in a warm (not too warm!) dark, quiet box. We all know chickens sleep when in a dark place because their brains shut down halfway, is what I heard, and my reasoning is that this must help with coping with the stress of, whatever happened that is.
So if your chicken or such is in a shock after being close to their fate, immediately put them in a comfortable place that is dark, and warm.
Hope this helps someone!
-TYtB.
