I accidentally killed one of my hens today :(

[Katiekelley2371]

It’s not your fault. That chicken had something else wrong with it. Tilting a chicken like that didn’t kill it. I routinely tilt birds upside down to check for mites and lice. I’m talking hundreds of birds and I’ve never had a bird die from it.

She was around 5 and absolutely hated being held. We are wondering if we could have given her a heart attack but her tail feathers needed tending too or she could have been in for some serious problems our other hen and rooster don’t mind being held at all

 

[NhRN]

Sending a hug your way

 

[roosterhavoc]

She was around 5 and absolutely hated being held. We are wondering if we could have given her a heart attack but her tail feathers needed tending too or she could have been in for some serious problems our other hen and rooster don’t mind being held at all

Could have just been a heart problem in general. I have quite a few layers that are over 7-8 yrs old and one dark Brahma that’s about 10. Most don’t make it much past 5 though. The breeding that goes into them isn’t generally the best so they aren’t the healthiest to begin with. Either way I wouldn’t blame yourself. She wouldn’t have made it long anyway with other issues affecting her.

 

[365username]

I’m sorry for your loss, and it was a mistake, mistakes happen. I have had chickens for almost 6 years and would have never thought putting a chicken too far forward would mean any harm. The good part about this, is that you have posted it on BYC where lots of people with chickens are on. This way you are teaching others that putting a chicken too far forward can cause harm. The reason she was feeling sick was because she seemed to have pasty butt. Lots of chickens get it it’s when the poop gets stuck in there butt feathers. A way to fix it is to just give her/him a warm bath, or take a wash cloth with warm water and rub it gently until it is gone.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

I'm sorry for your loss. You were trying to help, though, and at least she isn't suffering from the mites anymore.
My condolences to you.

 

[Katiekelley2371]

I’m sorry for your loss, and it was a mistake, mistakes happen. I have had chickens for almost 6 years and would have never thought putting a chicken too far forward would mean any harm. The good part about this, is that you have posted it on BYC where lots of people with chickens are on. This way you are teaching others that putting a chicken too far forward can cause harm. The reason she was feeling sick was because she seemed to have pasty butt. Lots of chickens get it it’s when the poop gets stuck in there butt feathers. A way to fix it is to just give her/him a warm bath, or take a wash cloth with warm water and rub it gently until it is gone.

Her weight could have also contributed to possibly suffocating from being held too forward. I always called her our butterball chicken cause she was quite round. Hopefully others will see this and be sure to pay close attention to their chickens actions because this could have been prevented which makes it so much worse. It was just so hard to tell from her being angry because we were holding her and her struggling to breath. I wish I could go back in time

 

[Katiekelley2371]

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences My red rooster is definitely gonna miss his favorite woman!

 

[Lobo123]

I'm really sorry this happened to you. You have a very beautiful flock btw.

 

[Katiekelley2371]

I'm really sorry this happened to you. You have a very beautiful flock btw.

Thank you!!..it is just the two of them now I think we need to get our rooster a few more hens!

 

[Vickischics]

I'm am so sorry to read about your post. I want to "Thank you" for sharing your story because we can all learn from this.
Sorry about your loss.