I'm pretty sure she's dying

[SAHMof2]

I noticed my 1.5 yo RSL was in her next box all a.m. and all afternoon. Around 4 I decided I'd try and give her a warm soak as none of my RSL have EVER shown broody-ness! As soon as I put her in the water she had a huge series of poops and dh was able to find and pick out part of a soft shell. She did not like the water but I kept her there for about 5 minutes and had to put pressure on her back to get her vent in the water otherwise she just stood there. Other than this she seemed fine. (comb and eyes)

She started to fuss so I let her out and straight into the nest box she went again. Its been two more hours and when I went to check on her she is half standing but her eyes won't stay open.

Two weeks ago for the first time since having these girls I found a hen in the nest box dead. I should have picked up on it the day prior but just wasn't thinking it odd that she was in the nest box at 3 in the afternoon. When we took her out her vent was very red and somewhat pushed out. When we put pressure on it liquid came out but I can't say what it was.

So sadly I'm thinking dh needs to do away with her yes? So she doesn't suffer? If so is there a good way to do it? Also is there a way to prevent this. My beautiful flock of 8 is diminishing faster then I'm comfortable with.

Thank you.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Aww so sorry...sounds like there is an egg stuck in there that busted possibly

Prolapse? If your not able to get the egg out I say have hubby put her down. My hubby does that for me too and he uses a stump with two nails pounded in the stump in a V shape to help hold the neck/bird steady (he says sick ones barely move anyhow) and then he takes a nice sharp ax. It's fast and easy and they don't suffer.

 

[gavinandallison]

Quote:
Am sorry to hear of your situation, and if you feel it is necessary to stop her suffering then you are making the right decision. It is a hard thing to do, but my suggestion is a chopping knife, hold her steady, neck out and chop, it will be instant, just hold the body as it will want to jerk - nerve reaction. I am so sorry for you all.

 

[teach1rusl]

First off - it's just an ugly coincidence that you had a hen die a few weeks ago, and now another is having egg issues. Secondly, I'd give the hen at least another day or two before considering putting her down. She may be able to expel the egg pieces and be fine. I'd give her another warm soak tomorrow, maybe lube her vent up with something - vaseline maybe, and hope she begins acting normally within the next 48 hours...

 

[sharol]

I'm still wrestling with a similar problem. My Partridge Rock got lethargic and weak a few weeks ago. When I found her on the floor of the coop one morning instead of on the roost, I brought her inside. She is 11 months old and as far as I can tell has never laid an egg. There was a hard lump just behind her vent, so I thought there might be an egg stuck in there. I did the warm bath thing (no results except for a wet, frustrated chicken and a wetter chicken owner -- they really can flap even when they are sick). The lump disappeared over time, but I couldn't do anything about it but put oil in her vent. She objected to that pretty strenuously. there were no eggs, soft or otherwise, in the dog crate, but she had some yellowish poop the next day.

I kept her in a large dog carrier. Her poop was green, her keel bone was quite prominent. She seemed to be feathers and bones. I couldn't get her to eat anything except tomatoes, so I just kept giving her those. She would drink a little and eat a little tomato and then go to the back corner of the carrier and stand there weaving back and forth. I took her outside after a couple of days, and she seemed to like the sunshine and dust bath so much that I gave her quite a bit of time outside, but the other chickens attacked her so I had to alternate the other 6 with her outside. At 1 week I moved her to my portable run that I use as a grow out coop. She was there a week -- eating a little better, but still green poop, still lethargic. I gradually reintroduced her to the flock (she was always the bottom chicken, so she really didn't have much to lose in status), and after a couple of days they accepted her back. After a week, she moved back into the coop and run with the others.

I'm still feeding her extra food away from them and keeping my head chicken (an especially feisty Campine) away from her when she is eating. She is still a bit weak, still sleeping on the lower roost, still thin. My DH says there is something wrong inside her, but she is so sweet I don't want to put her down. She is contesting for the group food dish again without getting pecked, so there may be hope.

Her poop is still a bit green, but more solid and natural looking, and she is foraging with the others every day and seeming to enjoy life. I told her it was OK not to lay eggs and not to worry about it. I doubt she will live very long. She is still painfully thin, but she seems to be moving well, and she is clearly glad to be with the flock.

Tough call. I probably should have euthanized her the first day, but I just couldn't do it. She won't ever be productive, I'm sure, and I think there is something terribly wrong inside her digestive or reproductive tract (or maybe both).

Good luck, and I hope you are at peace with whatever decision you make. I'm still not sure I made the right one. As I read back over this, I think I made the right decision for me (but I'm not everyone).

 

[SAHMof2]

Thanks everyone. Sharol I love that you feel you did what was best for you.

I think I will check on her throughout the evening and if she's still alive and poorly by the a.m. I'll have dh knock her off.

Thanks again.

I received our RSL at 19 weeks and have been so happy with them. I never knew hens could lay like these girls did all winter. I had 8 and I got 7-8 eggs all winter long even without them going outside for weeks at a time at minus 30 degrees. I think they are such great birds and am thankful for them and what they've given me. I just wish they were still healthy and happy.

Would you think that after laying so many eggs for the last year they are "old"? I am also getting more and more light coloured (instead of brown) eggs and thin shells.