I think I killed my poor chicken trying to help her

[evelynchicks]

My poor chicken 23 weeks old died. I'm still sad as I type, but I need to know if someone thinks I killed her. She had all the symptoms of an egg bound. She was lethargic, couldn't stand anymore and sleepy also her poop all over her vent feathers like stuck. I spent a lot reading and trying to figure out what was wrong. Her vent looked like inflamed. I put her in warm water. I added maybe too much Epson salt because I thought the more the better. I had gone to the store to purchase one bag and I think I put about half bag in her water. I also had read that tums was good, but I only had the liquid type so I think I made her drink about a 1/4 of a teaspoon. She was in the water for about 45 minutes. I flushed the water to rinse her, but as soon as there was no more water she started convulsing, like if having seizures. She twisted her body and she was struggling. I couldn't believe that she had turned so bad in seconds and I could see her vent part pushing hard, but nothing came out. My husband helped me and checked to see if he could feel an egg, but he thinks the egg maybe went back in more. What do you think? I'm so puzzled and I don't want to make another mistake if I'm the reason why she died. I can't believe I was going to be so sad. I missed her :""( I only had two chicken. The other one is missing her friend.

 

[evelynchicks]

 

[JesusHChicken]

Sorry for your loss. Hopefully others can offer advice. Doing a necropsy might shed some light.

 

[micstrachan]

Aawww... I am so deeply sorry for your loss. Big hug.
I honestly don’t know what caused her death, but I can tell you I relate. I had a sick hen (who was likely going to eventually succumb to her illness, in retrospect,) but my actions in trying to help her definitely sent her over the edge. It’s very heartbreaking and makes you feel terrible. I’m so sorry. I hope you can find some comfort in knowing you did your best and your sweet girl probably understood you were trying to help her.

 

[chickendreams24]

I'm not sure on if epsom salt soak can overdose a chicken. Was she drinking the water? It sounds like she was already pretty much shut down when you brought her inside?

Okay some questions that everyone who views this thread are going to want answers to, in order for us to give you as much help as possible.


Where are you located? Ie state
Where and when did you purchase your girls? Are they vaccinated at all for cocci or anything else? Were they ever treated for cocci?
What is your coop like? Bedding type?
What are you feeding? Are you sure it's free of mold? Do they have access to grit? If laying do they have access to oyster shell?
Are you sure she was laying?
Do you free range? Have you just recently allowed the birds out on ground?

Did you see any of the bird's stools before she passed? If so did they look normal?


As long as she didn't aspirate any of the Tums you gave her I don't think this is your fault at all but I'm also unclear if it is possible to overdose her on tums.


I believe what you call a seizure was actually death throes. I'm so sorry you had to see that it's terrible to see, especially for the first time. I believe for whatever reason she passed it was already too late to save her.

You are going to want to wait a while to be sure your other girl hasn't been affected by whatever killed her sister. After that I would suggest you get a minimum of two-three more pullets of as close to the same age as possible. Quarantine them for 2 weeks to 1 month if possible before introducing them.

 

[Birdinhand]

I lost a cockatiel to being egg bound many years ago, she died under the care of a vet and I can relate to how hard it is to lose a beloved pet, I'm sorry for your loss. if it's any consolation, recovering from being egg bound is very difficult and often leads to fatality. I suppose it's possible that what you did sped up the outcome, but I doubt it changed things. I would not be too hard on yourself. birds in the wild are up against difficult odds and I bet she had a better life under your care than she would have otherwise.

 

[chickendreams24]

@casportpony

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss. Hopefully others can offer advice. Doing a necropsy might shed some light.

So sorry for your loss. I agree that a necropsy would be best.

 

[ChickNanny13]

So sorry for your loss We do the best we can & pray for the best.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Sorry, I cannot say for sure either what caused her death and therefor if what you did had any negative effect on her - my guess is probably not - as others have said, they do go into a death spasm sometimes and it seems like your hen was on the way there when you tried to help and you may have actually slowed it down by a short time, I doubt that you caused her death - it was probably on the way and you were just there for her at the end - maybe the warm bath at least felt good to her at the end

I never heard of a bath or calcium killing a bird like this - maybe a whole bottle of tums, but not a small amount - it is good to have doubts and to ask for input from others to learn and possibly help more effectively if it ever happens again, but other than that, I think we need to take a deep breath and accept that we cannot always change what life has in store and that is not our fault

I can relate to the doubts about the amounts of meds and help given, but please don't panic - you did the best you could in a very difficult situation with limited information to go by and with the threat of losing a loved one if doing too little and if doing the wrong thing and if doing nothing, so something had to be done and that is all any of us can do

Agree that necropsy would be your best bet to find out more - sometimes state vets do it for free - call your state agency and find out - it needs to be done soon after death and/or the body should be keep at refrigeration temperatures - and to be honest, they don't always solve the mystery, but often they can

don't be hard on yourself please - I have been there and many others, I am sure, as well - when a bird gets sick, by the time we see it, it is often very sick and sometimes too late because they hide it so well from their flock mates (part of nature to stay alive) - then when we try to help, we are really in a tough spot - good for you for trying to help! I wish it had ended differently, but you did what you could and now the other bird still needs you - my husband keeps telling me, when I am upset about a loss, to focus on the ones that are still there

still, I understand, and it is ok, I think, to miss the ones we knew that are gone now - they are all such characters and special to us