Gasping for air

[cgreese]

Please help! My 2 yr old hen barely escaped a raccoon attack 3 nights ago. She has visible wounds that I have been treating. One is a deep puncture wound in her neck area. I have her separated and have been force feeding her water and food. This morning, she is gasping for air. Please see video and tell me if there is anything I can do for her. She is doing this with every breath. She does not have a gape worm and she was not sick before the attack.

Note: no video. It won’t let me upload it.

 

[azygous]

I wouldn't say it gets any easier over time and it's always just as heartbreaking to lose a chicken, but we get better at accepting reality and making that call as to when a chicken needs our help to cut short their suffering. In other words, the stressful debate that goes on in our mind and heart becomes shorter to get to the point we take the final step.

The pep talk I give myself goes like this: "The thinking part is over. Just do it."

 

[azygous]

Chickens are delicate. They are usually the losers in a confrontation with a predator. There is no shame in providing a compassionate end to her suffering.

 

[casportpony]

Thank you. It’s just so tough watching her. Would it cause her more stress if I were to just hold her close until she passes or leave her be in peace?

So sorry you are going through this. If you want to let her pass naturally I think it would be less stressful for both of you if you place her in a box, then place her somewhere that's dark and warm. After you do that, fix your password or create a new account at Vimeo, then post the video here.

If she really is suffering, euthanasia is the option I prefer.

 

[azygous]

Hot wire can be found in hardware stores and feed stores. It comes in different gauges or thickness. I get the cheapest, about a sixteenth inch diameter. They all carry the 10,000 volt charge. The wire I use is more vulnerable to breakage is all.

The charge is produce by a fence charger. There are ones that cost under $100 that you must have a place handy to plug it into a power source. The kind I have is a solar charger that costs twice as much but they usually don't require being shielded from the rain like the plug in chargers. And a solar charger can be installed anywhere you need it regardless of a power source.

The charger must be grounded to a copper post sunk several feet into the soil. You attach the grounding wire of the charger to the grounding post and the power wire goes to your hot wire fencing. In my photo, you can see the overhead wire that I have hung onto the trees to clear my head going under it, and it literally ties into the wire you've installed around your coop and run.

The only thing to understand are the wire has to be insulated from anything that is touching the ground or it won't work because all the voltage is diverted into the soil. You can see the plastic insulators I have screwed into the coop holding the wire away from the building. If you have a wire fence, there are other types of insulators to fit it. Id a hot wire touch metal and you touch the metal, be prepared for it to hurt. A lot. But it's won't kill you because it's a pulse current not like in your house.

The store that sells the supplies will have someone to explain what you need. It seems mystifying at first, but really is very elementary.

 

[peckpeckpeck]

I'm so sorry about your chicken!
It sounds like damage to her lung.

Calling some more experienced folks to chime in. @azygous @rebrascora @casportpony

For videos, you have to upload onto YouTube & then add it as a link
Tthe icon is above where you type your message:

Hope that helps

 

[azygous]

Go post it on You-tube, then copy the URL to your post. The video will then download here.

Your hen likely sustained critical injuries to her respiratory system. The lungs are very vulnerable on the back. Her trachea also is likely injured from the attack on the neck.

However, she also could be suffering from severe stress and electrolytes and heat might help stabilize her. Infection is also likely from deep puncture wounds so an oral antibiotic would be called for. I recommend amoxicillin if you can find it.

 

[azygous]

You know your hen better than we. If she and you had a close bond and she's always enjoyed the closeness of being cuddled, then perhaps she would be comforted.

But be aware that the end may not be so timely. She could have a lot more stress and suffering ahead before she dies naturally. I and many others who have had chickens for years prefer to end the suffering and not let it be prolonged. Once we realize the chicken has no chance of recovery, we euthanize. http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2017/02/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/

 

[jonalisa]

Handle it as it comes. Get a warm towel from the dryer, you can wrap and hold her. See if it calms her.

 

[cgreese]

Okay. How is she now? Do not force her more water and see if her breathing improves.

Ok. She is resting and still opening her beak for every breath. I have her wrapped up in warm towel, in a box in a quiet, dark-ish room.