HELP! Heat stroke chicken very weak

[DianeB]

Hi

I came home after work to find my chicken laying on the ground panting. She was very hot and weak. I brought her in the house put fans on her and syringed her water. She seemed to be doing a little better after about an hour. Then later on she became very lethargic again. I can still get her to stand up, but she's not as alert. Her comb is now cold. I gave her some more water with electrolytes to see if this will help. What else can I do? Is there any hope that she can pull through?

Thank you,
Diane Bailey

 

[Banana01]

Hi

I came home after work to find my chicken laying on the ground panting. She was very hot and weak. I brought her in the house put fans on her and syringed her water. She seemed to be doing a little better after about an hour. Then later on she became very lethargic again. I can still get her to stand up, but she's not as alert. Her comb is now cold. I gave her some more water with electrolytes to see if this will help. What else can I do? Is there any hope that she can pull through?

Thank you,
Diane Bailey

Heat stroke can take a long time to recover from. Keep her hydrated and cool and likely in a couple days she will recover. Hopefully you can prevent it happening again with some of the articles about preventing heat stroke that usually get published here every year.

 

[DianeB]

Thank you for your fast response.
So, it is normal for her to be this lethargic. She is so weak she can barely stand or keep her head up? What about the cold comb with dark edges. Is this from dehydration or organ failure? She is still breathing well and has a strong heartbeat. I am still going she pulls through.

 

[Banana01]

Thank you for your fast response.
So, it is normal for her to be this lethargic. She is so weak she can barely stand or keep her head up? What about the cold comb with dark edges. Is this from dehydration or organ failure? She is still breathing well and has a strong heartbeat. I am still going she pulls through.

Yes everything is a symptom of heat stroke. The comb being dark is also normal. Sometimes they get dark on the edges one day and the next it will be red.

It likely is dehydration and overheating reaction akin to exhaustion. To keep cool, a chicken has to try to keep panting to cool down. They can die from exhaustion.

Think of how long it would take you to recover if you were forced to run a marathon unprepared. You might be tired for days. Its similar to how your chicken feels. The dark comb could be from stress.

Try to give her a cool place to rest with plenty of water and she should recover

 

[DianeB]

Thank you again. She's inside with the air conditioner on. Do you know how long before I should start to see improvement?

 

[Banana01]

Thank you again. She's inside with the air conditioner on. Do you know how long before I should start to see improvement?

Be careful altering her temp drastically. Remove from air conditioning and fans.

Just put her in the shade or indoors, no ac

 

[kurby22]

I would also provide her with some sugar water and vitamins. Heat stroke is no joke, so a cool and dark place and some cool treats like watermelon, Greek yogurt, and some sugar water will help her gain that energy back if that’s what’s wrong with her. Good luck

 

[Banana01]

She will need to rest for at least the entire day, and assuming she sleeps all night you should see normal behavior in the morning.

 

[Banana01]

Again you seem to have caught it early, there shouldnt be any damage long term. Overheating causes death by exhaustion or stress due to how chickens have to breathe to cool down their bodies. You gave her water and if you can just put her aside to rest in a cool shady place the rest of the day.

Hope she recovers and stays cool the rest of the summer.

 

[DianeB]

She just had a seizure and died