Dying Chicken Care

[Stephoney]

Thank you for the sympathies. I feel lucky to have the BYC family to lean on at times like these. I looked at camera footage of my indoor run and backyard for the last few days. Whatever happened to Buttercup happened within 24-36 hours. Before that she was eating and drinking, scratching and running around with the flock. It was a relief to know that she hadn’t been sick for days without notice.

 

[KimBeeee]

Thank you for the sympathies. I feel lucky to have the BYC family to lean on at times like these. I looked at camera footage of my indoor run and backyard for the last few days. Whatever happened to Buttercup happened within 24-36 hours. Before that she was eating and drinking, scratching and running around with the flock. It was a relief to know that she hadn’t been sick for days without notice.

Hello. So sorry for your loss. My neighbor has 16 chicken of various breeds and they all have water belly/Ascites. One hen died over the weekend. They free range and are fed Scratch and Peck. She collected 9 eggs yesterday, so not egg bound. Did u learn anything more about why your chicken developed Ascites?

 

[Stephoney]

I’m so sorry about your neighbor’s hen. It’s rough to lose them. I think that Buttercup grew very quickly. I know that ascites can develop easier in larger breeds and she was a Buff Orpington. I also thought that she might have had an issue with a developing egg before it reached the vent area where I could have detected it. She was definitely having some issue with laying being very sporadic.
I’ve been careful, monitoring my newer hens and making sure I don’t overfeed with the treats, too. I definitely gave them more when I first started raising chickens. I’ve since learned to hold back and make sure they get plenty of exercise and eat primarily their feed. I’m hoping that this will help keep my flock ascites free or at least limit the cases of it. I have one other hen that definitely has ascites, an Australorp named Betty. She’s slowed down but still walks around with the flock and scratches and pecks. She doesn’t appear to be in any pain so I’m letting her be for the time being. If she starts to show signs that it’s getting worse I’ll muster up the courage to cull her before it gets bad.