Lost my favorite hen today

[cathylynn]

Might sound silly but am so sad about losing her today. She has always been my favorite, there was something so special about her. I haven't felt that way about the rest of my hens, like them, but loved Bella, but am sure I will shed tears for each of them too when they pass. She has been struggling with something over this last month. She would separate herself from time to time, seemed like she puffed herself up and acted slow. Then she would rally and be fine. She always ate and drank, always the first to the food, just something wasn't quite right. No outward signs of illness, her comb did get pale and floppy. Yesterday she got under the coop and we couldn't reach her, guess she knew she was ready to die. Any ideas of what could of happened, i'm new to raising chickens, i'm super clean with their coop and have a clean source of water at all times. They have been allowed out in our garden to graze on leftover veggies. All my other chickens are very healthy. She is the one in the middle of the picture.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings cathylynn,

I'm so very sorry for your loss. We keepers do get attached to our chickens. That is a great photo of your flock. Love the little picnic table. They all look healthy and happy.

As for what caused Bella's death, the only sure way to know is to send her body to a veterinary lab or even a local vet for a necropsy. In lieu of a vet's evaluation, we can try and guess. There are clues that may have been missed during the month she was ill. The appearance of her poop would tell a lot. The color, texture, and even odor can signal illness in a chicken. Chickens do make some nasty poops from time to time. But, if it happens consistently, along with other symptoms then we are closer to knowing what is going on. When it is suspected that a chicken is not right, a physical exam is also warranted. Was the hen laying eggs regularly? This is another important clue.

Even after all this, there are hens that seem "off" then are back to their normal behaviors. All seems right with them, until they suddenly become weak, hide under the coop or in a bush, and inexplicably die. I have had two hens die like this. One was a year old, the other a pullet at just 10 months. A necropsy showed the one year old died of a ruptured egg in the coelomic cavity. The egg contents polluted the major organs. She was also in the early stage of reproductive cancer. The 10 month old was rushed to the vet, the morning I first saw her posture of illness. The vet ran a CBC, and she was treated with antibiotics as a precaution. The results of the CBC didn't come in till the following morning. It revealed a probable congenital problem with her heart. Too little, too late...she died just 30 minutes after returning from the vet the day before. She too was my favorite, a very sweet little girl.

Sometimes, it goes like this. We notice the hen is not right, or visibly ill. We treat them and they still die. But, most of the time they do recover. And your intuition can save the life of a hen. If you feel something is off, take them in to a vet or you can do a comprehensive treatment yourself. The longer you keep chickens, the better you will get at caring for them. You'll also learn to take a deep breath, and say good bye to the one's you can't help.

These are my thoughts on your hen Bella's death. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless and peace to you.

 

[cathylynn]

Thanks so much for you kind words. I guess I never realized I could take a chicken to a vet, would have to travel quite a ways to do that. I researched her symptoms and nothing really fit. What you said about an ruptured egg, was your hen sick for a while with that, or is that something that would kill a chicken quickly. I never really saw her in the nesting box for quite a while, so not sure if she was laying. Its like the illness came and went, and she always was eating, and felt like she would snap out of it again. Feel so bad that i could have helped her, she was very special, so loving. She loved her little chicknick table, always the first to jump on and eat. My husband made that for me along with an awesome coop, I'll post a picture of that too. I do appreciate your reply, thanks so much for thinking of me.

 

[maryn7]

Sorry for your loss. I lost a girl last week and have been surprised by how much it's impacted me. It's hard with pets because they can't tell you what's going on, so you wonder if there was something else you could have done. But I have no doubt you did the best for her that you could, and that she knew that.

I've found this helpful for other pets passing on; you might, too. https://www.outsideonline.com/2405340/grieving-dog-death

“How do I get through this?” Dogs’ lives are short to us, but not to them. To them, their lives are the length of lives.

The burden of this, the hardship, falls on us—we outlive our best friends. But it also allows us to give them a gift. A dog can pass through puppyhood, adulthood, and old age in the company of caring humans. They can live their whole lives on earth in a cocoon of love.

Dogs exist in each moment. They are shallow in the best of ways: their life consists of the things they’re experiencing now. They want to be loved, they want attention and snacks and walks, they want gentle hands on their fur while they drift to sleep. The best thing we can do for dogs is to make their moments good. If their moments are good, then their lives are good, too.

And when we lose them?

They give us one last gift, which is that we can grieve like dogs. Moment by moment. Not by living in the past or the future, but by taking the sorrow as it comes.

 

[cathylynn]

Thank you, you are so kind. I'm sure most people would think its crazy to grieve over a chicken, but sometimes they are very special, and she definitely was. I will think of her every time I take my other hens a treat, she was always front and center.

 

[mviera101]

Oh my ...so sorry for your loss . Don't think that it's silly. I've grieved over the loss of my chickens. It hits hard and hurts. You can rest in the fact that you gave her a lovely, safe home and lots of love..

 

[cathylynn]

Yes, I think that also, had her for 3 years, gave her lots of love. Thank you

 

[One Lucky Momma]

Who knew we could love chickens so very deeply? I had no idea. But both you and she were very, very lucky to have each other. It’s beneficial to grieve, it lets us know we have a heart.

Thanks for sharing your story and your loss with us. I hope you can feel the compassion wrapping around you.

 

[cathylynn]

Who knew we could love chickens so very deeply? I had no idea. But both you and she were very, very lucky to have each other. It’s beneficial to grieve, it lets us know we have a heart.

Thanks for sharing your story and your loss with us. I hope you can feel the compassion wrapping around you.

Thank you, its why I love this site people understand. Most would not, I really appreciate your kind words, and yes everyone is so kind, Its made today better to talk about it. thanks!

 

[Allthefloofs]

So sorry for your loss, I totally understand how much it hurts. We lost two last year to heat. One was my very favorite and she died in my arms as I brought her into the vet’s office.
I am glad you have people here that will understand your grief. We did have a necropsy on ours and it was fairly useful.
as far as vets are concerned we have an app called TeleVet that we use and most of the time it is a video call. Just a thought in case it is hard to get to a vet.