I made a mistake

[pdxmelissa]

Like the title says, I made a mistake.

I had a Silver Laced Wyandotte with a swollen belly. She had been that way for a while, but seemed otherwise normal. She was also going through a molt, and probably hadn't laid an egg in a year.

I've had hens with swollen bellies before. I culled 2 Easter Eggers that were swollen because of ascites due to fatty liver. I culled another Silver Laced Wyandotte, and she was full of cysts.

So, thinking I was looking at the same problem with this one, I decided to cull her too. With winter coming I didn't want her to slowly suffer, I thought she would be full of cysts like the other SLW.

Well, when I opened her up to see what the problem was, it wasn't ascites or cysts.... it was fat. She had a layer of subcutaneous fat that was at least an inch and a half thick. Her intestines and reproductive tract were covered in heavy deposits of visceral fat. Her liver looked normal, and no fluid in her abdomen.

I feel terrible. She may have been heavy and moved a little slower but she wasn't sick. She didn't have tumors or fluid filling her body. She didn't have to die. I'm mad at myself, and I hate that I ended her life.

I guess I just needed to vent, and I don't really have anyone else that would understand.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Of course many of us understand and have total empathy for you

 

[coach723]

I'm so sorry. I think many, many of us have made mistakes. I just try to learn from mine and do better going forward. But it wasn't completely bad, you learned some valuable information and can hopefully make some dietary changes that will help the rest of your flock in the future. With a layer of fat like that, long term, health problems are more likely.

 

[imnukensc]

What are you feeding your chickens? What about "treats" and how often? Do you free range?

 

[dawg53]

A swollen belly isnt normal, no matter what the cause. Heavy fat concentration causes all kinds of problems as you know. IMO you relieved your hen of unnecessary suffering.
It's tough having to cull our birds no matter what the problem is, and I wish you the best.

 

[Feathers Brady]

sorry about your hen!
I agree, you would have had issues down the road with so much fat building.
Hang in there!

 

[LittleMoss]

Poor you. It's really hard when we feel we've made a wrong decision, I'm full of sympathy for you. We all learn from experience, it's just really hard sometimes not being able to turn the clock back. All the best for the future.

 

[pdxmelissa]

What are you feeding your chickens? What about "treats" and how often? Do you free range?

They normally get regular layer feed, but right now everyone is on flock raiser because we have chicks (they'll be 16 weeks and on later feed in mid November) We keep our kitchen scraps, mostly fruit and veggies, sometime bread, and they get that 1 or 2 times a week. Rarely they get the occasional turkey carcass around the holidays.

They do free range. We have a large pen and from there they can get into our large fenced yard. I'm terrible at estimating sizes, but I would guess it's at least 1/4 acre, if not 1/3.

They swelling had been growing for a while, it just finally got to the point I noticed she was really hesitant to jump off even the lowest roosting bar, and she never ran anywhere.

I have 3 Gold Laced Wyandottes that seem to be chunking up in the same way, but all the rest of the hens (15) are all well balanced. Is it a breed thing?

 

[pdxmelissa]

A swollen belly isnt normal, no matter what the cause. Heavy fat concentration causes all kinds of problems as you know. IMO you relieved your hen of unnecessary suffering.
It's tough having to cull our birds no matter what the problem is, and I wish you the best.

That's how I'm trying to look at it. She may not have been in pain but she was definitely uncomfortable and would have gotten worse the longer it went on.

 

[pdxmelissa]

Poor you. It's really hard when we feel we've made a wrong decision, I'm full of sympathy for you. We all learn from experience, it's just really hard sometimes not being able to turn the clock back. All the best for the future.

Thank you. My chickens aren't pet-like, but I am still pretty attached.