Help Please!!

[Queen Scoot]

went away for a few hours today and came home to find 1 of my hens laying face down and panting...yes they have water...appeears to be heat related...what can i do she is still alive. PLEASE HELP!

 

[gritsar]

Bring her in. Use the sprayer on your kitchen sink to wet her down with cool water. Then sit her down on your lap in front of a fan. Keep her quiet the rest of the night. Good luck to you.
ETA: Consider purchasing poultry electrolytes, available at most farm type stores, to add to their water.

 

[Imp]

Try to get some water into her. If you have Vitamins & Electrolites that would be good also.

Good luck

Imp

 

[Queen Scoot]

SPrayed her down in the sink...have ice packs under both wings shes in front of the fan...cant hold her head up and is barely breathing

 

[gritsar]

 

[Queen Scoot]

thanks gristar....heat index here is 120 i feel like such a bad mommy i should have stayed home and not went anywhere.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Don't beat yourself up over it. Lots of folks are losing livestock to this impossible heat. I lost a hen to a heart attack last year, the day before my wedding, and I was home all day that day. On the other hand, I was gone all day last Thursday, temps. in the 100s and all my chickens were just fine. Sometimes these things just happen.
I used the above method to save two half grown chicks lives back in 2007 when they became crushed and overheated at the bottom of a pile up.
Are you positive that your hen doesn't have other issues going on? Egg bound maybe?

 

[Queen Scoot]

Quote:
Don't beat yourself up over it. Lots of folks are losing livestock to this impossible heat. I lost a hen to a heart attack last year, the day before my wedding, and I was home all day that day. On the other hand, I was gone all day last Thursday, temps. in the 100s and all my chickens were just fine. Sometimes these things just happen.
I used the above method to save two half grown chicks lives back in 2007 when they became crushed and overheated at the bottom of a pile up.
Are you positive that your hen doesn't have other issues going on? Egg bound maybe?

i am positive she doesnt and isnt egg bound she layed this morning....i hope she pulls through shes a 2 year old golden laced polish, named Pebbles and one of my faves

 

[crj]

You can't be with you chickens 24/7 just like you can't be with you kids 24/7. We have to remember they are animals. They live outside and things happen. Maybe that chicken didn't drink enough water that day and got over heated. It happens, it will happen again. That's just the way things go. All you can do is make sure they have food, water and a secure place to live and keep an eye on them when you can.

I found a chicken sitting on the coop floor. She was also wheezing. It seemed as though she had been there a while. I brought her into the house to cool her off. Then I went out and brought in a cage and kept her in the kitchen. She didn't do a whole lot but she sounded better. I gave her some chicken starter/grower...... it was medicated so I figured it would help with anything she may have. Gave her water and yogurt too. She liked the yogurt which was a good sign. By the next morning she was feeling much better. I let her out in the afternoon since she seemed ready to be with her buddies. She has been thanking me every since.

So, just sit tight and keep an eye on her. The advise with the fan and water are good and it seems as if you are doing the right thing. Hope she feels better soon. Good luck.

 

[sgtmom52]

You need to get her to drink. If you don't have the poultry vitamins/electrolytes, try some Gatorade. If she won't drink on her own, use a syringe and dribble some along her beak, don't force down her throat as it could go into her lungs.