Quote:
JJ, I know you've been going through a tough experience there with your hen, but I think you're being too harsh now. We all are responsible for our own animals, and we trust that everyone here is doing the best they can with the wisdom & resources they have, and making the best choices they know at the time. Certainly we all make mistakes, and this forum helps us to learn from each other's. This issue is a very very very difficult one, when situations are unclear but hindsight is 20/20.
The argument could be made that taking extreme measures to medicate and do surgery on a chicken is prolonging its suffering as much as keeping it comfortable and waiting to see if it recovers on its own. But I would say that both methods are an equally valid attempt to care for an ailing bird, and the choice is up to the individual owner. The argument could also be made that when you have an animal's life in your hands you have to be prepared yourself to end its suffering if ever you're faced with such a crisis situation, or you shouldn't have them in the first place. But that would be a harsh thing to say, and I would rather leave those choices to the individual owner.
In many instances it's a perfectly valid form of treatment to keep an ailing chicken isolated, warm, comfortable, clean, fed & watered and wait to see if it recovers on its own. If it truly is "very ill" it won't last for weeks but expire sooner on its own. If its symptoms hang on for weeks then perhaps some sort of medication or natural remedy should be applied. But the time will seem longer for the human owner tending to the bird than to the bird itself. Certainly we need to pay attention to its condition and if we perceive them to be worsening or suffering we probably should help them to The Other Side of the Road. But I don't think it's really A Better Place, for humans maybe, but not for animals. It's just The End for them, and back to the dust they go.
And again I say, animals do not perceive time the same way that people do. They live primarily in the present moment, and a long illness or confinement seems the same as a single night's rest. That's not an excuse to allow their suffering to endure any longer than necessary, but also not a reason for additional concern that their illness may be extended. It really doesn't seem like a long time to them.
I'm grateful for this forum, for the opportunity to share our wisdom, to learn from each other's mistakes as well as our own. I apologize if I stepped on anyone's toes here.
