how long does heat stroke last?

musicteacher456 · Jun 16, 2012

So I'm a new chicken owner. I've had 2 girls, both 4 months old for about 1 and a half weeks. They both were doing fine until we left town for 2 days. I had a neighbor lock them in the coop at night, let open it up in the morning, and make sure they had food and water. When we returned our Buff Orpington is not able to walk. When I talked to our neighbor, she said that she didn't see the BO out of the coop at all. It was pretty hot those two days in St. Louis, and the coop gets pretty stuffy. (We have intended to add some more ventilation to our pre-made kit we bought on line.) Anyway, today we took her out and placed her in the wet grass and I put her beak in the water. She did drink a little, but I didn't see her eat all day. Even though I had her food right by her. We also put her in a cool (not cold) pan of water two separate times. I offered her yogurt and egg yolk, and she did not eat anything. Although I've never seen her eat the meal worms I've offered prior to her showing signs of illness.
Other than her acting lethargic, she looks fine.

Tonight, she is still about the same. Won't walk, and when she tries she is off balance and lies back down. On the other hand, our Black Australorp is just as perky as usual. We even let her out for the first time to free range tonight. Seems completely normal.
I'm not sure what to do. We'll see if she makes it through the night.
Any thoughts from anyone? Does this sound like heat stroke?

TeamChaos · Jun 17, 2012

So, the neighbor didn't see her out for the two days you were gone and on the third day you noticed that she was "off"- so, time wise, this condition has persisted more than three days, is that correct? Dehydration is a serious condition and will obviously worsen if there's no intervention, but you've been offering fluids and she hasn't perked up... I suspect there's something else going on. Could she have eaten anything weird in the coop or gotten stuck at all? Where did you find her when you went looking for her? If they've only been in the coop a little over a week, it shouldn't be too bad but how strong was the ammonia from their droppings? I'm wondering if she got a little overcome w/ fumes in the heat.

dawg53 · Jun 17, 2012

If it's due to the heat, I recommend that you bring her in your house in the A/C and put her in a cage. I recommend you use an eyedropper to force feed her electolytes or sugar water down her to get her hydrated again. You'll have to do this 4-5 times a day until she can eat/drink on her own getting her strength back, then you can consider taking her outside again. Another possibility is that she may be eggbound in which case you can put her in a container of warm water up to her sides and gently massage her underside for about 20 minutes. Then hiopefully she'll lay an egg.