I accidentally killed one of my hens today :(

[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.

Yes we were trying to fix her butt poo...we can never get our hand on her because she isn’t as friendly as our other two so it had gotten pretty bad which I already felt awful about. Bless her heart though she was a beautiful hen with lots of spunk

 

[DolceVita]

I understand how you feel. I’ve felt this way for about 3 days now because last week my leghorn went completely limp on her left leg. I thought it was vitamin deficiency but come Monday we took her to the vent and found out it was a broken femur! God I felt absolutely awful. AWFUL. We had to put her down because the break was so bad. I cried forever but have to remember that I did everything in my power to try and help her like you did. Now I’m hunting for 3 new little girls and can’t wait to soil these chicks again and give them the best life. Hang in there

 

[Katiekelley2371]

I understand how you feel. I’ve felt this way for about 3 days now because last week my leghorn went completely limp on her left leg. I thought it was vitamin deficiency but come Monday we took her to the vent and found out it was a broken femur! God I felt absolutely awful. AWFUL. We had to put her down because the break was so bad. I cried forever but have to remember that I did everything in my power to try and help her like you did. Now I’m hunting for 3 new little girls and can’t wait to soil these chicks again and give them the best life. Hang in there

Aw no I am so sorry to hear that ! It is so hard losing them but it’s good to know that we tried to help to the best of our abilities! I am also looking for 2-3 more hens because I currently have 1 hen and 1 rooster

 

[Pounddogsrock]

I feel awful. We noticed one of our hens butts was looking red and she had a good amount of poo stuck to it. All of our chickens are fine being held except for her. We cornered her and picked her up to try and clip away and clean the area because it was obvious she had mites pretty bad back there which I feel terrible about too. Well my mom was holding her and we had her tipped forward but not completely upside down and we had no idea this was harmful to chickens. I noticed the hen (Ms. Pacaw) was making an odd noise and her eyes were closing and I told mom something wasn’t right so we quickly sprayed the area with the spray. Then she went limp. We tried everything chest compressions and we even gave her mouth to mouth. We feel terrible and we have been crying for hours because we love our chickens so much.

I feel awful. We noticed one of our hens butts was looking red and she had a good amount of poo stuck to it. All of our chickens are fine being held except for her. We cornered her and picked her up to try and clip away and clean the area because it was obvious she had mites pretty bad back there which I feel terrible about too. Well my mom was holding her and we had her tipped forward but not completely upside down and we had no idea this was harmful to chickens. I noticed the hen (Ms. Pacaw) was making an odd noise and her eyes were closing and I told mom something wasn’t right so we quickly sprayed the area with the spray. Then she went limp. We tried everything chest compressions and we even gave her mouth to mouth. We feel terrible and we have been crying for hours because we love our chickens so much.

A long time back, I went out to find that one of my hens had fallen through a hay rack. Hay had not been in it, so it was empty. She decided to roost up on it, fell through, her head and wings went through, but not her body. She couldn’t get back up because now the wings were spread open under the rack. I found her hung dead. It made me absolutely sick. The death seemed so unnecessary and such a fluke. I never saw a mounted, empty hay rack as a threat to one of my birds, but it was. You could not possibly have foreseen this tilt thing. As another mentioned, this probably wasn’t the main cause. However, you have shared something that I will take note of. I’ve seen folks catch and hold multiple chickens upside down by the legs at auctions, etc. I guess I never really thought about this, so thanks. So very sorry about Ms. Pacaw.

 

[Katiekelley2371]

A long time back, I went out to find that one of my hens had fallen through a hay rack. Hay had not been in it, so it was empty. She decided to roost up on it, fell through, her head and wings went through, but not her body. She couldn’t get back up because now the wings were spread open under the rack. I found her hung dead. It made me absolutely sick. The death seemed so unnecessary and such a fluke. I never saw a mounted, empty hay rack as a threat to one of my birds, but it was. You could not possibly have foreseen this tilt thing. As another mentioned, this probably wasn’t the main cause. However, you have shared something that I will take note of. I’ve seen folks catch and hold multiple chickens upside down by the legs at auctions, etc. I guess I never really thought about this, so thanks. So very sorry about Ms. Pacaw.

I cannot even imagine that that is awful, I am so sorry to hear that! And thank you so much for your condolences, it was just such a unfortunate series of events that I wish I could change but I am glad that I now know not to hold chickens in that way.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Awwww, this is terrible news & just makes your heart ache! Sadly, even without accidents & medical issues, they won't ever live as long as we'd like them to.

I agree that there could have been a couple of things going on with her that contributed, but we (& you) can't know. (Did she have an underlying medical condition? Did she just freak out & have a heart attack? Did she suffocate? All of the above, none of the above?).

We DO know a couple of things for sure: 1) omg, this sucks!; 2) big hug to ya, you're feeling horrible & I understand; 3) you are SO going to do better going forward; 4) getting all of your future flock used to being handled will be a top priority (they won't all be cuddle bugs but will have to have regular inspections);

and 5) if she had mites, everyone has mites. Time to dust the remaining flock, coop & nest boxes.

I'm really REALLY sorry to hear that this happened to her & you. You are not a bad person & not a bad Chicken Mom.

As a tip, here are a couple of things that I do, which may be helpful.

I have a big, thick towel over my washer & everyone who's getting a thorough inspection stands there. If they need a soak in the chicken spa, I have a special, oval bucket that goes into the stationary tub (next to the washer). I am not above using treats as a bribe for being good & as a reward for letting me do my thing.

I used to have my husband help me with dusting by turning them upside down & holding them by the legs. Now, I have a squirt bottle (like you might see on a restaurant table, filled with ketchup...you know, round bottle, pointy tip with a cap?) I fill that with my mite dusting powder & when squirting it I can get their backs, bums, under their wings, necks, chests, feathered egg pants...everywhere! It seems less stressful for them & it's definitely less stressful for me!

 

[BarredRockMom]

And for everyone else who's posted about losing a hen or roo in an odd and awful way, man, my heart goes out to ya! Losing them any time is terrible & losing them to freak, unfortunate & unforseen circumstances is horrible!

 

[Katiekelley2371]

Awwww, this is terrible news & just makes your heart ache! Sadly, even without accidents & medical issues, they won't ever live as long as we'd like them to.

I agree that there could have been a couple of things going on with her that contributed, but we (& you) can't know. (Did she have an underlying medical condition? Did she just freak out & have a heart attack? Did she suffocate? All of the above, none of the above?).

We DO know a couple of things for sure: 1) omg, this sucks!; 2) big hug to ya, you're feeling horrible & I understand; 3) you are SO going to do better going forward; 4) getting all of your future flock used to being handled will be a top priority (they won't all be cuddle bugs but will have to have regular inspections);

and 5) if she had mites, everyone has mites. Time to dust the remaining flock, coop & nest boxes.

I'm really REALLY sorry to hear that this happened to her & you. You are not a bad person & not a bad Chicken Mom.

As a tip, here are a couple of things that I do, which may be helpful.

I have a big, thick towel over my washer & everyone who's getting a thorough inspection stands there. If they need a soak in the chicken spa, I have a special, oval bucket that goes into the stationary tub (next to the washer). I am not above using treats as a bribe for being good & as a reward for letting me do my thing.

I used to have my husband help me with dusting by turning them upside down & holding them by the legs. Now, I have a squirt bottle (like you might see on a restaurant table, filled with ketchup...you know, round bottle, pointy tip with a cap?) I fill that with my mite dusting powder & when squirting it I can get their backs, bums, under their wings, necks, chests, feathered egg pants...everywhere! It seems less stressful for them & it's definitely less stressful for me!

Aw thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it! We think it could have been one of 2 things, we think she could have suffocated from what we read and from the noise and facial expression she had, which I can’t get out of my head but I wasn’t sure if that was just her being angry because we were holding her. Or she had a heart attack. Our two other chickens are extreme friendly and our rooster actually likes being held. This weekend we are gonna go an replace all of their bedding and make sure they don’t have any issues. I noticed my rooster missing feathers around his neck so we put some DE on it(we read to do that which I hope was right)...we are gonna go in tractor supply to check for a spray to keep on hand. Thank you again

 

[BarredRockMom]

If you're going to TSC, I recommend getting this to use for dusting the mites into oblivion:
Poultry & Garden Dust

Yes, it's a chemical & I'm not usually a fan of that. However, it's been the difference (for my babies) between a smack on the wrist & my hand in a boxing gloves sending the mites into oblivion.

Follow directions, especially about re-dusting a 2nd time so that all of the mites & the hatching eggs left behind that hatch after the mites have died, die too!!
Y-TEX Gardstar Garden & Poultry Dust Insecticide, 2 lb., 840001
SKU: 220429499

 

[cate1124]

I'm so sorry for your loss ❤

I feel awful. We noticed one of our hens butts was looking red and she had a good amount of poo stuck to it. All of our chickens are fine being held except for her. We cornered her and picked her up to try and clip away and clean the area because it was obvious she had mites pretty bad back there which I feel terrible about too. Well my mom was holding her and we had her tipped forward but not completely upside down and we had no idea this was harmful to chickens. I noticed the hen (Ms. Pacaw) was making an odd noise and her eyes were closing and I told mom something wasn’t right so we quickly sprayed the area with the spray. Then she went limp. We tried everything chest compressions and we even gave her mouth to mouth. We feel terrible and we have been crying for hours because we love our chickens so much.

So sorry for your loss. I'm with others who suggest she may have died of something else; I have never heard of a chicken dying simply from being tipped forward, though it's possible that position aggravated an underlying condition you would have no way of knowing about. Sometimes they die abruptly and we never know what killed them.