How do you know when "its time"?

[Amphitecna]

Hello everyone,

Mods- I'm not sure where this thread fits best- maybe diseases and cures, but although it's a disease (EYP), there is only one "cure". Ethel, my Sussex, is 3 and came down with EYP this winter/spring. I was late in recognizing it. But she responded very well to antibiotics, so I had hope. A few days after she was off them, she made signs of wanting to lay, and to cut through the details we're back where we started.

She's lethargic, spends most of her day sitting near the others. She breathes heavily, and her crest and wattle are dark red, veering to purple with any stress. Her abdomen is filling with fluid. She'll move around though and has active moments, feeds, dust bathes, will search for worms, loves her snacks and wants to be with the others. From my perspective her QoL is decent. One of our new hens has taken quite a liking to her and spends much of her time preening Ethel. They are a cute pair. The other 2 older chickens (two French Blues, I think they're called in English), like Ethel, but are mean to the two new hens. Ethel is my sweetheart.

So, what are your lines for when to make the call? With our dogs, we always knew, but there was generally a vet involved. The vet here can't do anything other than more antibiotics, and that's not a long-term solution. We discussed implants, but they finally, aren't an option. She's always been so stoic, I didn't even realize she was sick until she was pretty bad (but she's also one of my first chickens, so I'm learning with her.) Will I see it when her QoL declines so much that she's in pain? I live with daily pain and just get on with it. She's deffo doing that now, but I don't want her to suffer needlessly either.

I suppose I'm also looking for some support. I'm pretty sure most of you have been here.... She will also be the first chicken I have to cull, so that's emotionally agonizing as well. None of the methods seem great, and I wish I weren't learning on her.

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for "listening". Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@Wyorp Rock

 

[Bsmac]

Hello everyone,

Mods- I'm not sure where this thread fits best- maybe diseases and cures, but although it's a disease (EYP), there is only one "cure". Ethel, my Sussex, is 3 and came down with EYP this winter/spring. I was late in recognizing it. But she responded very well to antibiotics, so I had hope. A few days after she was off them, she made signs of wanting to lay, and to cut through the details we're back where we started.

She's lethargic, spends most of her day sitting near the others. She breathes heavily, and her crest and wattle are dark red, veering to purple with any stress. Her abdomen is filling with fluid. She'll move around though and has active moments, feeds, dust bathes, will search for worms, loves her snacks and wants to be with the others. From my perspective her QoL is decent. One of our new hens has taken quite a liking to her and spends much of her time preening Ethel. They are a cute pair. The other 2 older chickens (two French Blues, I think they're called in English), like Ethel, but are mean to the two new hens. Ethel is my sweetheart.

So, what are your lines for when to make the call? With our dogs, we always knew, but there was generally a vet involved. The vet here can't do anything other than more antibiotics, and that's not a long-term solution. We discussed implants, but they finally, aren't an option. She's always been so stoic, I didn't even realize she was sick until she was pretty bad (but she's also one of my first chickens, so I'm learning with her.) Will I see it when her QoL declines so much that she's in pain? I live with daily pain and just get on with it. She's deffo doing that now, but I don't want her to suffer needlessly either.

I suppose I'm also looking for some support. I'm pretty sure most of you have been here.... She will also be the first chicken I have to cull, so that's emotionally agonizing as well. None of the methods seem great, and I wish I weren't learning on her.

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for "listening". Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

Hello, Unfortunately only you can know when it is time. I recently had to help one of my favorite birds pass. She had wry neck. I treated her for over two weeks and she did not respond to treatment. I could not bare to see her suffer any longer. I made the call because I just knew she was not going to get better. I lost a couple of orphingtons early this spring to impacted crop. Thinking back I should have helped both of them. When QOL deteriorates, eating or drinking very little with not much hope of improvement. That is when I start contemplating humanely helping them to pass. Still very tough to do! Good luck to you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello everyone,

Mods- I'm not sure where this thread fits best- maybe diseases and cures, but although it's a disease (EYP), there is only one "cure". Ethel, my Sussex, is 3 and came down with EYP this winter/spring. I was late in recognizing it. But she responded very well to antibiotics, so I had hope. A few days after she was off them, she made signs of wanting to lay, and to cut through the details we're back where we started.

She's lethargic, spends most of her day sitting near the others. She breathes heavily, and her crest and wattle are dark red, veering to purple with any stress. Her abdomen is filling with fluid. She'll move around though and has active moments, feeds, dust bathes, will search for worms, loves her snacks and wants to be with the others. From my perspective her QoL is decent. One of our new hens has taken quite a liking to her and spends much of her time preening Ethel. They are a cute pair. The other 2 older chickens (two French Blues, I think they're called in English), like Ethel, but are mean to the two new hens. Ethel is my sweetheart.

So, what are your lines for when to make the call? With our dogs, we always knew, but there was generally a vet involved. The vet here can't do anything other than more antibiotics, and that's not a long-term solution. We discussed implants, but they finally, aren't an option. She's always been so stoic, I didn't even realize she was sick until she was pretty bad (but she's also one of my first chickens, so I'm learning with her.) Will I see it when her QoL declines so much that she's in pain? I live with daily pain and just get on with it. She's deffo doing that now, but I don't want her to suffer needlessly either.

I suppose I'm also looking for some support. I'm pretty sure most of you have been here.... She will also be the first chicken I have to cull, so that's emotionally agonizing as well. None of the methods seem great, and I wish I weren't learning on her.

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for "listening". Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

I'm sorry to hear about Ethel

Only you can determine when it's time for her if you are considering putting her down.

From your description, she is in a slow decline but still have decent quality of life. She's still eating/drinking and has a friend, so she's not quite done yet it seems.

For mine what I have seen when they are actively dying is they stop eating/drinking, sleep a lot, have a hard time standing and usually do not move from wherever they lay. Usually they die within a few days. I generally do take them aside and give drops of fluid/sugar water, but very often they will not swallow. I leave them with their flock unless they are getting picked on (their friends/flock mates often sit with them during the day) and if the weather/night is cold place them in warmer sheltered area.
I have left them to die with their flock and I have also put them down once they get to this stage, it's really up to you. Both have pros/cons, it's hard to watch the decline but it's also bittersweet to see their friends sit with them or come and check on them during the day too. Putting them down, is quick, but it's also sad too.

 

[Pukkits]

I'm sorry for what you and your family are going through. I agree with the others here that you are the best judge of when it's time. It sounds like she has a decent quality of life still, and your other hens are being polite. If it were me, I'd take it day by day.

We had to make the tough call last year, and while our healthy hens were being polite, the unwell hen was distressed with her lack of mobility as she had been boss hen. A vet visit and a few days of comfort treatment confirmed cancer and not just a pinched nerve from passing a large egg. Had she been less distressed, we'd have let her decline naturally with her friends. As it was we returned to the vet because I was afraid I'd mess up, as I've never euthanized a chicken before. (I had also lost a family member a few days before and was an emotional wreck. Chickens have bad timing.) While worth it at the time, after paying the vet bill, I pray all our hens pass peacefully in their sleep from here on.

As your hen sounds peaceful, I'd feed some extra treats and let her be with her friends.

 

[WingItRanch]

It's never an easy decision to make, especially when you have to do the culling. Like the others said, you'll know when it's time. I've been there and made the decision when I saw the pullet was suffering and had given up the fight to live. I'm sorry for anyone having to go through this situation but it is an unfortunate part of animal caretaking.

 

[Folly's place]

It's always hard, sorry your hen is so ill.
I've found birds dead in the morning, sometimes with little signs of illness, and other times watched that long decline, and wished I'd acted sooner to end suffering, when things can't be fixed.
Taking her to the veterinarian's for humane euthanasia is not a bad thing, or learn how to do it at home, best at night with a small flashlight, not during daylight.
Again, so sorry.
Mary

 

[Bsmac]

I'm sorry to hear about Ethel

Only you can determine when it's time for her if you are considering putting her down.

From your description, she is in a slow decline but still have decent quality of life. She's still eating/drinking and has a friend, so she's not quite done yet it seems.

For mine what I have seen when they are actively dying is they stop eating/drinking, sleep a lot, have a hard time standing and usually do not move from wherever they lay. Usually they die within a few days. I generally do take them aside and give drops of fluid/sugar water, but very often they will not swallow. I leave them with their flock unless they are getting picked on (their friends/flock mates often sit with them during the day) and if the weather/night is cold place them in warmer sheltered area.
I have left them to die with their flock and I have also put them down once they get to this stage, it's really up to you. Both have pros/cons, it's hard to watch the decline but it's also bittersweet to see their friends sit with them or come and check on them during the day too. Putting them down, is quick, but it's also sad too.

I agree 100 percent. Never easy to go though.

 

[Anon112]

I'm so sorry about your hen.

For me, it's that loss of appetite that is the final signal. Hens are so good at masking their pain, and it's always hard to think they could be in terrible discomfort but just putting on a brave face.

I once, with my first dying chicken, kept her alive and then regretted it as I watched her actually pass away. I wish, in retrospect, that when she finally lost her appetite (even when I took her outside to sit in the grass she had no interest) I had done the humane thing and put her down myself. I feel like she spent about 2-3 days in pain for no reason.

Like everyone else, I'm sure, this is one of those times I most wish they could talk. Just to say "Yes, I'm done".

I'm always sad to lose a chicken, but it's that one I kept alive too long that hurts me the most to think about. A friend's vet once told her that there isn't just a "right time", but once you start wondering, you know that you're in the right zone.

Whatever choice you make, it sounds like you've given Ethel such a loving, caring life, and you're giving her a loving, caring death.

 

[Bsmac]

I'm so sorry about your hen.

For me, it's that loss of appetite that is the final signal. Hens are so good at masking their pain, and it's always hard to think they could be in terrible discomfort but just putting on a brave face.

I once, with my first dying chicken, kept her alive and then regretted it as I watched her actually pass away. I wish, in retrospect, that when she finally lost her appetite (even when I took her outside to sit in the grass she had no interest) I had done the humane thing and put her down myself. I feel like she spent about 2-3 days in pain for no reason.

Like everyone else, I'm sure, this is one of those times I most wish they could talk. Just to say "Yes, I'm done".

I'm always sad to lose a chicken, but it's that one I kept alive too long that hurts me the most to think about. A friend's vet once told her that there isn't just a "right time", but once you start wondering, you know that you're in the right zone.

Whatever choice you make, it sounds like you've given Ethel such a loving, caring life, and you're giving her a loving, caring death.

My sentiment right on par with yours.