is whiny dead??UPDATE!!!SHE DIED ):

[bungaree chickens]

I went out this morning and Whinny, our littlest chicken, and always very whinny was dead! So I brought her in the house and she will move a little. As in she looks completely dead, and listless but if I put water on her beak she will open it and move her tung around. I can't see that she is breathing though. And like I said besides that she is lifeless. She stretched out her legs once and her wing, but it was more of a "I'm passing on now" type of thing...
She is still opening her mouth every once in a while though.

Is she dead?? Is it like the chicken with the head cut off reflexes? HELP?

I am sad.....she was always smaller than her siblings, but I just thought that maybe the other two were roos, she always lagged behind, I just thought it was her personality. She seemed fine yesterday.There are no puncture wounds of any sort.

 

[jjthink]

I'm so sorry this is happening - I don't know what to say but hopefully someone with experience in this will be along very shortly.
JJ

 

[bungaree chickens]

thanks jj.

I just remembered that she was hanging out around where I had cut the sidding for the new chicken tractor....I wonder if she ate it!!!

The other thing that I was thinking is that she is (or would have been) 8 weeks tomorrow, and when I picked up my 4 week olds I realized she is no heavier than them! Maybe she had been sick for a while.

Or, maybe it was my fault. I have been brining the food in at night so as not to attract mice, and the water in the run, so the while they roost they don't have food or water...could it be my fault??? I heard that that was okay, but is it not? She wasn't a young chick anymore, 8 weeks....

oh, this sucks.

 

[pinkfeather]

Sorry about your chicken.

I don't know what could have done this to her, hopefully some one else will have some advise for you. I don't know if she'd eat siding and I doubt it had anything to do with leaving the food and water out at night. I do it with my chickens and they're fine. Were the 4 week olds the same breed as her, or a larger breed? If she were a bantam and you compared her to 4 weak old orpingtons, then it would be normal for them to be bigger than her.

 

[bungaree chickens]

thanks pinkfeather...I am at least glad that she didn't die because I left her food out. Yes, they are the same breed, all EEgers.

 

[chickbea]

I'm very sorry. Sometimes our babies die for no reason we can understand.

 

[bungaree chickens]

Quote:
I know. for some reason not knowing is driving me nuts though. I don't want the other ones to die too, especially if there is something I can change.

This is just my first chick to die ever....I have had no problems yet. You are very right though...Thank you chickbea!!!

 

[jjthink]

In Oregon your temps have probably been fine, right?
Vitamins and electrolytes in water come to mind, but I don't know if dribbling the solution along her beak would work if she isn't conscious enough to swallow correctly without choking.
Given that she seems quite underweight, something may well have been going on for awhile, something fundamentally wrong - poor baby. Noticed also that you said she was always whining, so that's another sign that something may have been amiss from early on, something she was born with....
DRAT - this is sad - I am really sorry.
JJ

 

[ruth]

Is she still opening her mouth, moving her tongue around and breathing? If so, she isn't dead. If she will still open beak for water try mixing up a little sugar water and giving her that. See if you can revive her.

Please post an update. No need to give advice if she is really dead but if she is just prone and breathing there may be some options to try.

 

[bungaree chickens]

Quote:
I never was able to see that she was breathing, but she was opening her mouth and wiggling her tongue, it seemed more like a reflex to me but I will try the sugar water and see if she is still giving any signs of life.

thanks ruth, so much