- Jun 1, 2014
- 9
- 0
- 60
We just lost one of our best girls, "Betty" a few hours ago and I'm looking for some guidance.
I noticed Betty had a dirty butt a few days ago. The vent did not look like it had prolapsed with the exception of dirty feathers, she seemed to be fine. I did notice that the color of her comb was not the brilliant red that it normally is and as of last night, her tail would droop a bit very unlike her) but she was eating and drinking like always. Never missing a beat.
I put together a "butt cleaning kit" of Epsom salt water to break the dirt up and a light cider vinegar solution to assist with any yeast infection and some topical ointment. Note: She is a VERY high strung Spanish and does not like to be held for any period of time. A fighter in every sense of the word.
We set everything up today and I held Betty under my arm in a reverse position with her legs tucked under. She wasn't happy but seemed to decide to deal with it. We washed her and trimmed a few bad feathers that were beyond repair. She would let out a squawk and kick a bit then would calm down. As we were doing a wash on the vent, she started to pee / poop. more fluid than solid. During that spell, I noticed her belly tighten up considerably. She let out a squawk so I released her and turned her around. she had a very dazed look and started to sway her head back & fourth. I set her down but she was very unstable. I picked her up and massaged her breast and neck area she seemed to come back for a moment and then went limp. Needless to say, she died.
I did a good once over on her and noticed her belly was very tight. I could feel an egg way up and to the left. It seemed to be pretty far up the tube. The was so much tightness, I couldn't tell if there was more than one. I've read conflicting views on how to remove an egg, but considering that it was so far up there, I'm not sure I could have helped.
Short story long; I don't know if we killed her by scaring her in the cleaning process or if the impacted egg (s) and what was going on inside were the result, or both. We have had our chickens for 3 years and never had a health issue like this. My wife is heart broken and I'm feeling that I, a) didn't do enough or, b) did to much at one time to a high-strung chicken. Any thoughts on this?
Hurt & Dumbfounded in Asheville.
Big D
I noticed Betty had a dirty butt a few days ago. The vent did not look like it had prolapsed with the exception of dirty feathers, she seemed to be fine. I did notice that the color of her comb was not the brilliant red that it normally is and as of last night, her tail would droop a bit very unlike her) but she was eating and drinking like always. Never missing a beat.
I put together a "butt cleaning kit" of Epsom salt water to break the dirt up and a light cider vinegar solution to assist with any yeast infection and some topical ointment. Note: She is a VERY high strung Spanish and does not like to be held for any period of time. A fighter in every sense of the word.
We set everything up today and I held Betty under my arm in a reverse position with her legs tucked under. She wasn't happy but seemed to decide to deal with it. We washed her and trimmed a few bad feathers that were beyond repair. She would let out a squawk and kick a bit then would calm down. As we were doing a wash on the vent, she started to pee / poop. more fluid than solid. During that spell, I noticed her belly tighten up considerably. She let out a squawk so I released her and turned her around. she had a very dazed look and started to sway her head back & fourth. I set her down but she was very unstable. I picked her up and massaged her breast and neck area she seemed to come back for a moment and then went limp. Needless to say, she died.
I did a good once over on her and noticed her belly was very tight. I could feel an egg way up and to the left. It seemed to be pretty far up the tube. The was so much tightness, I couldn't tell if there was more than one. I've read conflicting views on how to remove an egg, but considering that it was so far up there, I'm not sure I could have helped.
Short story long; I don't know if we killed her by scaring her in the cleaning process or if the impacted egg (s) and what was going on inside were the result, or both. We have had our chickens for 3 years and never had a health issue like this. My wife is heart broken and I'm feeling that I, a) didn't do enough or, b) did to much at one time to a high-strung chicken. Any thoughts on this?
Hurt & Dumbfounded in Asheville.
Big D
