- Jul 17, 2014
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I am a new member who just joined today. We had to put one of our Reds down this morning at the Vets and I am truly upset by this.
We got three Reds in April, all egg laying age. About a week ago one of them began to act strangely. It started when my husband turned her gently upside down in an attempt to 'hypnotize' her (according to a reliable book we were reading on chicken care). After that she vomited, and then became disoriented. After that she appeared lethargic, was always laying to one side, and spent much of her time in the coop. She would come down on occasion to eat and drink, but seemed to have difficulty.
We chalked it up to either 1: being egg bound (she typically laid small or rough eggs) or 2: hyperthermia, and went about the first steps to alleviate these conditions by adding crushed oyster shells to their feed, putting water and food in the coop, and giving them showers with the hose. We prompted her to eat and drink and watched her behavior. I will also add that during this time we treated all three's feet with soap/water and olive oil for mites.
Over the weekend she perked up and we thought we were in the clear. However, yesterday she began acting the same way. My intention after work today was to go home and move onto the warm bath and vasoline to see if there was an egg present, but unfortunately when my husband checked them this morning she was unresponsive, laying down but with her legs splayed to the side. He pet her and noticed that she was covered in bugs, which were not present the day before, and was cold to the touch. She was also sneezing and drooling (red) from her mouth.
Long story short, he took her to the vet and on the way she began to vomit red (we assume blood) but continued to be unresponsive. We had her put down because we felt it was the best thing for her, we didn't want her to be in further pain.
We are not having an autopsy done due to the cost in our area, so my main questions are:
1. What could have happen?
2. Could our other chickens be at risk (they seem to be healthy and fine)?
2. What can be done in the future to not go through this again?
Thanks in advance.
We got three Reds in April, all egg laying age. About a week ago one of them began to act strangely. It started when my husband turned her gently upside down in an attempt to 'hypnotize' her (according to a reliable book we were reading on chicken care). After that she vomited, and then became disoriented. After that she appeared lethargic, was always laying to one side, and spent much of her time in the coop. She would come down on occasion to eat and drink, but seemed to have difficulty.
We chalked it up to either 1: being egg bound (she typically laid small or rough eggs) or 2: hyperthermia, and went about the first steps to alleviate these conditions by adding crushed oyster shells to their feed, putting water and food in the coop, and giving them showers with the hose. We prompted her to eat and drink and watched her behavior. I will also add that during this time we treated all three's feet with soap/water and olive oil for mites.
Over the weekend she perked up and we thought we were in the clear. However, yesterday she began acting the same way. My intention after work today was to go home and move onto the warm bath and vasoline to see if there was an egg present, but unfortunately when my husband checked them this morning she was unresponsive, laying down but with her legs splayed to the side. He pet her and noticed that she was covered in bugs, which were not present the day before, and was cold to the touch. She was also sneezing and drooling (red) from her mouth.
Long story short, he took her to the vet and on the way she began to vomit red (we assume blood) but continued to be unresponsive. We had her put down because we felt it was the best thing for her, we didn't want her to be in further pain.
We are not having an autopsy done due to the cost in our area, so my main questions are:
1. What could have happen?
2. Could our other chickens be at risk (they seem to be healthy and fine)?
2. What can be done in the future to not go through this again?
Thanks in advance.
