- Apr 16, 2010
- 66
- 5
- 58
We've had an incredibly cold winter as have many people. I don't know if the extreme cold brought this on or not.
I have about 40 chickens in a coop. Thursday we didn't even let them out of the coop it was so cold. My son went up 3 times during the day and refilled their water and food. The last time for the evening, I went with him. I found my Buff Cochin hen was having trouble breathing. We took her to the house and gave her some VetRx in some water and kept her inside all night.
The next morning she didn't seem to be doing any better. We pushed more water/VetRx and called the vet. She saw us two hours later. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to tell us much. She didn't seem to think it was an infectious disease. I have no idea if/how you can tell the difference. It was not a crop issue. She sent us home with homeopathic drops to push every hour and we were to call her the next day - today. Interestingly, while in the waiting area, the hen stopped making so much noise while breathing - we had hope that she might make it. The vet said it may have been due to adrenaline. But it happened again for a few minutes after we were home for an hour.
Two hours after we got home, the poor hen suddenly jumped up out of her box in a panic. She squawked and gasped for breath, turned purple in her head and then she died.
This is what she looked like Thursday night when she was breathing:
This is her just before we took her to the vet:
Here is my big dilemma. I can't decide whether to do the necropsy or not. I have her wrapped up and in the refrigerator in case I decide to do it. I am being advised that if they find something "reportable" that they may very well come in and wipe out my flock. I probably don't have to even mention that we have some well-loved family pets in the mix of birds that would be beyond devastating to lose in that way.
It has been almost 48 hours since we found her ill. No other birds have any signs of illness. Could this really have been just a fluke? A pneumonia brought on by the cold?
If this were something more serious/infectious, how quickly would it be expected to affect the rest of my flock?
Does the video remind anyone of anything they've seen in their chickens?
Thanks for any information.
I have about 40 chickens in a coop. Thursday we didn't even let them out of the coop it was so cold. My son went up 3 times during the day and refilled their water and food. The last time for the evening, I went with him. I found my Buff Cochin hen was having trouble breathing. We took her to the house and gave her some VetRx in some water and kept her inside all night.
The next morning she didn't seem to be doing any better. We pushed more water/VetRx and called the vet. She saw us two hours later. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to tell us much. She didn't seem to think it was an infectious disease. I have no idea if/how you can tell the difference. It was not a crop issue. She sent us home with homeopathic drops to push every hour and we were to call her the next day - today. Interestingly, while in the waiting area, the hen stopped making so much noise while breathing - we had hope that she might make it. The vet said it may have been due to adrenaline. But it happened again for a few minutes after we were home for an hour.
Two hours after we got home, the poor hen suddenly jumped up out of her box in a panic. She squawked and gasped for breath, turned purple in her head and then she died.
This is what she looked like Thursday night when she was breathing:
This is her just before we took her to the vet:
Here is my big dilemma. I can't decide whether to do the necropsy or not. I have her wrapped up and in the refrigerator in case I decide to do it. I am being advised that if they find something "reportable" that they may very well come in and wipe out my flock. I probably don't have to even mention that we have some well-loved family pets in the mix of birds that would be beyond devastating to lose in that way.
It has been almost 48 hours since we found her ill. No other birds have any signs of illness. Could this really have been just a fluke? A pneumonia brought on by the cold?
If this were something more serious/infectious, how quickly would it be expected to affect the rest of my flock?
Does the video remind anyone of anything they've seen in their chickens?
Thanks for any information.
