My only friend has died.

[Hayamz]

Hello there everyone.
I've never imagined I would write such a post so soon. I didn't want to but I can't sleep without knowing what has happened to my little cute friend.
I have had my beautiful hen for two years, a friend bought it to me since it hatched from the egg and I have been taking care of her since then... She had had hard days but she managed to pull through every time .. From cold to calcium deficiency she survived everything. She was a weak hen especially when she started to lay .. Laying eggs made her weaker but she pulled through as usual . I did everything I could for her .. We were best buddies , I have never left her side , I had lost my job that's why my friend bought me this beautiful gift to cheer me up and it definitely did . I was only leaving her when I went grocery shopping or run some errands and I would hurry home to be with her .
She stopped laying a long time ago, I guess 8 months , I thought that was okay because of her weak condition I didn't want her to lay anyway I only was enjoying her company..but at some days she would act like she wanted to lay.. She would goto her laying spot and sit there for hours and then get up with nothing and start eating or playing around .. Some people here told me that sometimes hens feel like they want to lay but no eggs.
Sometimes that feeling she got could make her really sick ... Silent and lethargic and drink so much but after a while she would go back to her normal beautiful self.
Sadly I have lost her last week and I don't know what happened... She was okay all day long, she watched tv with me and scratched around and ate until her tummy was full , I took her to her home to sleep after sunset, after two hours I went there to check on her and the laying condition was there , silent , lethargic, drinking a lot and wanted me to hold her all the time , I noticed that her poop was watery like literally she was pooping just water, her face, wattles and comb were dark red , her wings were droppy and she was struggling to stand on her feet , all of that was familiar to me I thought in a few hours she would be okay .. Then the last

thing she did was stepping into my lap and couldn't stand anymore .. I tried to make her sit but she would roll over on her side then she closed her eyes for ever .. I waited for her to open her eyes again but she wouldn't I waited for so long until her body was firm like a piece of stone .. This is so heart breaking she was my only friend I didn't know it would hurt that much , she was there in every second of my life for the last couple of years , she was so full of life , she was funny , cute and sweet , she would make me laugh all the time even when I feel down all I had to do was just to sit with her for a few seconds and she would wash my tears away , literally lol , if I cried while holding her she would drink my tears my neighbors would visit me just to see her and play with she was the cutest chicken I've ever seen she was actually sane she could understand most of the things I wanted her to do , she was Adorable .. It all happened too fast I didn't have time to look the symptoms up or do anything to help her . I will upload some photos for you to see if something there can help me figure out what happened to my baby .. I'm sorry for the long post but I feel like I'm responsible for what happened to her somehow and it's killing me. Oh and look at there little dots on her face was that an indication for something serious ???

 

[Hayamz]

 

[StacyWilliams950]

So sorry for your loss! I have no answers for you as I am learning, but I'm sorry for the loss.

 

[Sue S]

Soooo sorry for your loss, I don't have any advice but again sorry for your loss, it's amazing how attached we get to our animals

 

[Emmaxx]

I don't know chicken so can't give any answers either I'm afraid, but I am sorry for your loss it sounds like she had a lovely last day though and passed peacefully in the arms, or lap, of the person she loved as much as you loved her!

 

[microchick]

@Hayamz How lucky this little hen was to have you as her loving chicken parent. I am so sorry for your loss. But glad that she was loved to the very end.

Please do not blame yourself for even a minute. Chickens are funny little animals. By the time you suspect that something is wrong with them, it is often too late to do anything to help them. This is because chickens are low on the food chain and to be sick means they will loose their flock status and if they act sick, they are open to become some wild animal's dinner. So they pretend that everything is okay until it is too late to recover.

You did all you could for your little friend. Please rest easy.

I don't know what happened to her. It almost sounds as though she had a problem with her reproductive system that finally overcame her. Maybe she was an internal layer and had a peritonitis infection going on. Without a post mortem necropsy done it is hard to guess what happened to her. But often with peritonitis and internal laying, there is little you can do to help them.

Once again, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. She wouldn't want you to grieve or blame yourself. Please rest assured that you did all you could.The most important thing, you were there to comfort her at the very end.

 

[featherhead007]

I have 2 hens similar to her. Brown Leghorns, I know exactly how you feel, and it's not fun! So sorry for your loss. I bet she felt your friendship as much as you did hers.
You gave her a good life! I miss my birds that have gone too!

 

[ronott1]

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Hayamz,

I am so sorry for your loss. Like you, many people raise chickens as pets. And like you their pets pass away. Sometimes we know the reason, and sometimes we don't.

It sounds like your hen was suffering from a reproductive problem. Most likely she was an internal layer. This means her eggs were being released inside the body cavity. This is why she was displaying nesting behavior, but not laying any eggs. The internal egg can be absorbed by the body, but eventually, one too many eggs are released, and the body is overwhelmed. The egg will decay within the body cavity creating an infection, egg yolk peritonitis. This will cause a hen to poop a yellow mucousy egg like substance. A hen will have a penguin like stance when they are having difficulty laying an egg, have an oviduct obstruction, or internal eggs in the body cavity. Watery poop, is another way the body tries to rid itself of toxins building from infection. Some hens develop a swollen belly from all the ascites (body liquid), that builds up in the cavity. Along with decreased appetite, a keeper will know something is wrong. Reproductive problems happen in hens.

But, nesting behavior without a egg being laid, is the biggest clue that a hen is in trouble.

Do not blame yourself, these are things that take many years for keepers to learn. I have had chickens for many years. And I still have to take them to the vet for a diagnosis. Because chickens are prey animals, they will hide some symptoms to prevent looking weak. This is how predators find their dinner, sick or old animals are the easiest. Sometimes, hens even recover by themselves.

And other times, a keeper can do everything for a sick chicken, to no avail. The chicken will still succumb to it's illness. I have a hen like that right now. She is my alpha hen, a beautiful black Ameruacana, "Taji". She is on her second course of antibiotics, I have her in the house with me, she has all the love and care I can muster. But, sadly...I don't think it will be enough. I am grieved, every time I lose a member of my flock.

But, this is how life goes.

A wonderful special little hen came into your life just when you needed her.

Now she has moved on to another place. Yes, I believe that all creatures have a spirit, that continues on. Where ever she is, she is not suffering. And she knows how much you loved and cared for her.

These are my thoughts on the passing of your beloved pet friend.

God Bless and peace to you.

 

[GracieJ]

So sorry for your loss. Do not blame yourself at all, she was very lucky to have you as a parent and you were meant to be in each other’s lives. She loved you and you loved her. She knows that.