Moved my hen to "Hospice" Today... :(

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
X2. Sometimes it is best just to let them go.

 

[RoosterRidge]

Bless your heart and hers...

I don't blame you at all for trying to keep her comfortable and help her... I would do the same...

 

[chickchicks]

Quote:
*2

all you can do is make her happy in any way you can itmay be her time to go but if it is she will be gong with a smile asyou have looked after her dearly and you can see that

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
X2. Sometimes it is best just to let them go.

X3. Hospice is for the terminally ill..which means they are going to die. If you feel your bird is going to die and, by the symptoms, it seems as if she is suffering, the humane thing to do is put her out of this misery. Love means doing what may hurt you for the good of the one you love.

 

[peterlund]

An 11 year old chicken is far more than a chicken to the owner... Probably far more precious than some family members might be. There is no right or wrong, and even if it appears selfish to some, to others it appears quite sweet and compassionate. Mother nature put pain blockers in place in most instances. My sincere thoughts to the owner for keeping her around for so long, but I also do appreciate the other posters when they mention dispensing the bird.. To each their own. ( I just hope my kids put me in hospice.... not on the railroad tracks when I am near my end....)

 

[Beekissed]

Mother nature put pain blockers in place in most

I must admit that I have no way of knowing if this is true in poultry...but I know it is most definitely not true in humans. Since their nervous systems are pretty much similar, I can only surmise that they do indeed feel pain, difficulty breathing and the usual changes that can make a body be in physical discomfort during the actively dying phase.

You can take that statement from a hospice nurse...unless you have morphine or some anti-anxiety meds for your chicken, it is most likely suffering as it tries to die. Please be merciful.​

 

[Taylor]

UPDATE!!!!!!! I soaked her in warm water today and she is doing much better!! I soaked her to get her cloaca back to normal and get all her butt feathers clean. her eyes are wide open and she started acting like a chicken should today!!!!

she still has neon yellow droppings, but the meds seem to be working!!! so she is back in the "hospital"/ recovery pen and I hope to put her back in the coop real soon!! I was scared yesterday, she was almost dead! I think it was black head because i used to have turkeys in the same coop and possibly the sickness got into her.

 

[Shayna]

Quote:
Good for you not giving up on her. I hope she continues to improve. As for the other comments, I think that when a chicken is like a family member, you will treat it has you would a family member when it is near death. It is a decision for the individual to make on how to let them go.

 

[Patricia Jane]

I certainly hope she is on the road to recovery. It's so hard as to know what the right decision is in cases like this. Please keep up posted.

 

[chickenzoo]

Black head is treated with Men------zole(sp) look up fishzole, the active ingredient in that. If she has only been treated with Wazine, she may have other types of worms as Wazine only kills round worms. If so try using Safeguard, either horse paste or liquid goat wormer. In the paste give her about a pencil eraser size dollop in her mouth. repeat every 2 days if she is that bad. If liquid goat, put 3 cc's to a gallon water for 5 days. i would also put 1/4 cc in her mouth or on bread the first day.