Hen died while trimming feathers.

[cathylynn]

I am so upset, I watched a video on trimming feathers on their bottom, it was encrusted with poop. She was acting all puffed up and slow so thought I should clean her. My husband helped me, and held her while I trimmed off the poop. All of a sudden a clear liquid started coming out of her mouth, so I told him to let her go, she died right away. What did we do wrong, i'm just devastated.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Did you hold her upside down? I had that happen with a hen, she had drank a lot of water before we unknowingly flipped her and she threw up only to choke on the water and food

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. She may have had a lot of liquid inside her crop. When squeezed or held tightly, it would be possible for the chicken to vomit and choke on the liquid. She also could have been so ill, that she just died from the illness or had a heart attack. It sounds like she could have had a crop problem, such as sour crop, or a reproductive disorder, but it is hard to know exactly without getting a necropsy done by your state vet. At times doing your own home necropsy and taking pictures of the abdominal organs to post here, you might be able to see something wrong.

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

So sorry this happened! Your description of the liquid makes me think that it is as others have suggested--she aspirated water. Sometimes they drink a bunch and you don't realize they've done it...I've had them vomit from that just because I picked them up.

To help avoid having to hold your chickens in the future if they develop this problem, you can try giving them a warm bath just deep enough to splash/use a cup to pour water on the affected area, and gently pull off the poo. The warm water loosens it up quickly. Every chicken I've bathed in this way hasn't been bothered much at all. I prefer doing it that way because they don't seem to like being clipped and I honestly don't enjoy getting scissors near anything's nether regions.

 

[casportpony]

So sorry for your loss. It's also possible that she was just *really* sick and the stress of being handled is what killed her.

 

[cathylynn]

Did you hold her upside down? I had that happen with a hen, she had drank a lot of water before we unknowingly flipped her and she threw up only to choke on the water and food

Thanks for your reply. Not sure about the water, he had her head tucked under his arm pit, with her rear up in the air, the whole things lasted less than 30 seconds. She was calm the whole time, and then started to squirm and we let her go, and she died within a few seconds. There was something not quite right about her today, she was really slow moving and all puffed out, I helped her off her perch, its like she didn't want to jump down on her own. It breaks my heart, not sure if I'm equipped to be a farmer.

 

[coach723]

It does sound like she was ill with something, so unlikely that you really did anything wrong. With time and experience you will begin to recognize symptoms earlier, but there are many things that can happen and not all of them are treatable. I'm really sorry you lost her, but don't beat yourself up. It's just one part of keeping animals. No one likes that part, but it comes with the territory. She went quickly and did not suffer, and that is the best we can do for them at the end..

 

[cathylynn]

Thank you so much, just so sad the way it happened, was trying to help her and ended up doing harm.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

That's so sad! Try not to feel too bad. It does sound like she was ill before. The poopy butt is a possible symptom, but being puffed up and not coming off the roost are definite red flags.

Not sure how many other chickens you have or how old they are, but you may want to watch others for symptoms in case the flock is under the weather and needs treatment. If anyone else wants to stay on the roost, or is puffed up, or has a pale comb, or runny poop, or any other symptoms, this site is a great resource for figuring out how to make them feel better.

 

[cathylynn]

That's so sad! Try not to feel too bad. It does sound like she was ill before. The poopy butt is a possible symptom, but being puffed up and not coming off the roost are definite red flags.

Not sure how many other chickens you have or how old they are, but you may want to watch others for symptoms in case the flock is under the weather and needs treatment. If anyone else wants to stay on the roost, or is puffed up, or has a pale comb, or runny poop, or any other symptoms, this site is a great resource for figuring out how to make them feel better.

My other 5 hens look fine, and she seemed good too until today, except for the poopy butt has been going on for the last couple of weeks. I will definitely keep an eye on them since I have some chicks in the brooder right now, wouldn't want them to catch anything. Always helps to come here, everyone is so nice and helpful.