My hen is dying!

[BauerWFarm]

Okay, I'll tag a few more people who know a lot more than me. @Jenbirdee @SmiYa0126 @luckycluk

Thank you! I Appreciate the support and advice very much . I feel like I’m not doing all that I can, however at the same time I’m doing whatever I can to help her…. I’m just tired… I’ve kept her inside today in a spare bathroom… so she had time to just sleep and rest.

 

[LaFleche]

Inspect her closely for bloodsucking poultry mites as they can leave a bird weak and anaemic in no time.

You said to have noticed a bad odor. She might suffer from a crop disorder such as sour or impacted crop.
Check if her crop empties properly over night. Feel early in the morning right before she has anything to eat or drink.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-treat-sour-crop-and-impacted-crop-and-how-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[BauerWFarm]

If she is not drinking, offer some of the sugar water to her beak in an eye dropper (cup water, tsp sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of baking soda is the recipe I see on here often - you can search for more information on this in the search bar). Just place a drop or two on her beak. Since it is sweet, it might entice her to drink more of the fluid. Your first goal must be to get her taking in fluids. If she doesn't readily take it, offer it to her beak often.

You can also try a little watermelon. It is almost all water and has an array of electrolytes (which the sugar water imitates).

Check the wound thoroughly to make sure the flies have not laid eggs which have hatched in the wound. They will continue to work their way into the hen's tissues and eventually kill her if they are not removed. Use a turkey baster to flush the wound thoroughly. If you have clorhexidine, use that otherwise, use a salt water mixture. Once you are convinced there are not maggot in the wound, pat dry and apply non-pain reliever triple antibiotic ointment to the wound. Keep the wound clean and moist with the antibiotic ointment. A moist wound will heal, a dry wound will have troubles.

Once she is drinking, offer her food. Regular feed wetted down into a mush is usually very appealing to chickens. If she won't eat that, try a poached or hard cooked egg.

Does the wound smell? If so, you have an infection and might want to seek antibiotics for her. I am not sure what antibiotics would be best, so I will tag someone who might. @Wyorp Rock any suggestions? Thank you.

Keep her separated in a darkened, quiet spot so she can rest and recover.

She isn’t actively drinking… I had some care for her today because I was out of town for the afternoon…. It’s night and idk if I should try getting some water down her tonight or not… I bought crumble feed for her…. The wound is healing, thank heavens, and I am treating all the vent area for the skin irritation.

Idk what else I can do…..

 

[Anon112]

She isn’t actively drinking… I had some care for her today because I was out of town for the afternoon…. It’s night and idk if I should try getting some water down her tonight or not… I bought crumble feed for her…. The wound is healing, thank heavens, and I am treating all the vent area for the skin irritation.

Idk what else I can do…..

Keep her warm and comfortable. You've done what you need to do, it sounds like, and her body needs time to heal and rest.

I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that doing too much can just stress an animal out and make things worse. That line between "not enough" and "too much" is hard to find, and it's very stressful when an animal is in bad shape.

 

[BauerWFarm]

Keep her warm and comfortable. You've done what you need to do, it sounds like, and her body needs time to heal and rest.

I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that doing too much can just stress an animal out and make things worse. That line between "not enough" and "too much" is hard to find, and it's very stressful when an animal is in bad shape.

Thank you for reminding me of this…. She is in a guest bathroom that tends to be warmer than rest of house… I will gather some more towels for her ( she isn’t really putting effort into standing unless I force it, so I’m taking your advice).

It is hard when all I want to help her

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The wound is clean, I didn’t know anything at the time so I had bathed the lower half of her and used witch hazel as an antiseptic…. I’ve used the the vetericyn antimicrobal poultry care on the wound… but need to do the non pain reliever antibiotic ointment…. The vent isn’t loose or moist as normal as well….

I’ve tried pedialyte with a pointed syringe…. But she isn’t taking water on her own and definitely not eating….

She had improved with sugar water… and I thought things were looking hopeful…. But she has declined again… and I tell her body temperature is going down… idk if she will make it thru the night….

I’ve noticed a bad odor occasionally after bath but I’m questioning if it’s from her mouth.. which is clean.

She isn’t actively drinking… I had some care for her today because I was out of town for the afternoon…. It’s night and idk if I should try getting some water down her tonight or not… I bought crumble feed for her…. The wound is healing, thank heavens, and I am treating all the vent area for the skin irritation.

Idk what else I can do…..

I'm sorry she's not perking up.

Do the best you can to get fluids into her. It can be hard to know what's ailing a hen at times.

Once she's hydrated, you can offer some wet mushy feed if she's willing to eat.

You did a good job taking care of the wound, sounds like it's healing up already.

 

[MarlaMac]

She isn’t actively drinking… I had some care for her today because I was out of town for the afternoon…. It’s night and idk if I should try getting some water down her tonight or not… I bought crumble feed for her…. The wound is healing, thank heavens, and I am treating all the vent area for the skin irritation.

Idk what else I can do…..

How is she doing this morning? I hope she is on the mend.

I would continue to offer water to her beak if she is not drinking. Also offer water rich fruits and veges (watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc) along with mushy feed to see if she will eat anything at all.

You cannot beat yourself up. Things happen that are not in our control. All we can do is the best we can do for those in our care. You are doing that.

Continue to inspect/care for her would daily to make sure there are no flies/maggots and to apply ointment to help her heal.

 

[BauerWFarm]

She stopped laying when broody, and she felt absolutely fine… I have been away for a month and half, been back about 3-4 weeks…. She was broody when I returned… first time seeing her like that and she is absolutely the cutest I’ve seen while broody lol…. I just kept taking her out of the nesting boxes to break it, and she would eat and drink during then. I noticed odd behavior Friday or Saturday I think… she is has always had a unique personality so I hadn’t thought much of it… ex: trying to keep cool by laying areas she never has before but the ground was damp… I’m in Texas, on the border… it’s HOT… I have two industrial fans, and numerous water stations, with feed in shade and then their favorite scratch…. Yesterday she was walking the perimeter of the “hen yard” this is normal for her…. I always check my hens, handle them, to observe how they are doing and if there is any pecking, long talons etc…. I never even noticed a build up of feces on her. I can spot that real well on the others…

The wound is clean, I didn’t know anything at the time so I had bathed the lower half of her and used witch hazel as an antiseptic…. I’ve used the the vetericyn antimicrobal poultry care on the wound… but need to do the non pain reliever antibiotic ointment…. The vent isn’t loose or moist as normal as well….

I’ve tried pedialyte with a pointed syringe…. But she isn’t taking water on her own and definitely not eating….

She had improved with sugar water… and I thought things were looking hopeful…. But she has declined again… and I tell her body temperature is going down… idk if she will make it thru the night….

What does it mean if she has the bad for coming from her mouth and syl in

She stopped laying when broody, and she felt absolutely fine… I have been away for a month and half, been back about 3-4 weeks…. She was broody when I returned… first time seeing her like that and she is absolutely the cutest I’ve seen while broody lol…. I just kept taking her out of the nesting boxes to break it, and she would eat and drink during then. I noticed odd behavior Friday or Saturday I think… she is has always had a unique personality so I hadn’t thought much of it… ex: trying to keep cool by laying areas she never has before but the ground was damp… I’m in Texas, on the border… it’s HOT… I have two industrial fans, and numerous water stations, with feed in shade and then their favorite scratch…. Yesterday she was walking the perimeter of the “hen yard” this is normal for her…. I always check my hens, handle them, to observe how they are doing and if there is any pecking, long talons etc…. I never even noticed a build up of feces on her. I can spot that real well on the others…

The wound is clean, I didn’t know anything at the time so I had bathed the lower half of her and used witch hazel as an antiseptic…. I’ve used the the vetericyn antimicrobal poultry care on the wound… but need to do the non pain reliever antibiotic ointment…. The vent isn’t loose or moist as normal as well….

I’ve tried pedialyte with a pointed syringe…. But she isn’t taking water on her own and definitely not eating….

She had improved with sugar water… and I thought things were looking hopeful…. But she has declined again… and I tell her body temperature is going down… idk if she will make it thru the night…what does it mean if she has bad smell from mouth and saliva that smells …. I had thought she was improving but when I cleaned her today I found a few more open wounds… small… I used Neosporin on them… but when the breath was bad I’m thinking she will have to be culled

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What does it mean if she has the bad for coming from her mouth and syl in

@BauerWFarm can you clarify your post?

Do you mean that she has a bad odor coming from her beak? What does her crop feel like? She may have Sour Crop(?) Does she have any lesions or yellow sores/canker inside the beak (?)

Is she not able to eat/drink on her own?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[BauerWFarm]

@BauerWFarm can you clarify your post?

Do you mean that she has a bad odor coming from her beak? What does her crop feel like? She may have Sour Crop(?) Does she have any lesions or yellow sores/canker inside the beak (?)

Is she not able to eat/drink on her own?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

I didn’t realize my message clearly had so many typos, my apologies.

Yes, I meant beak…. There is a bad odor, and tinted horrible smelling saliva. She hasn’t been able to eat or drink on her own, although she did manage some watermelon and the smallest amount of crumble yesterday. She is now severely malnourished but seems to be a fighter… I am trying to make a humane decision. I will read the link on sour crop, it’s not impacted. Thank you.