JJandtheBoys
Chirping
- Oct 26, 2020
- 44
- 42
- 74
My 2 year old wyandotte hen is probably suffering from heat stroke and I need information or advice please. For some reason, their coop door was shut from 9pm last night until 2pm. We never close the doors because their yard is secure on all sides, so I suspect one of our teens did this absent-mindedly. The weather was 88 degrees F, so probably very hot in the coop.
All other chickens are fine and eagerly free-ranged. We found her in the woods at 6pm tonight after 4 hours of free ranging in this condition:
1. Very dark red wattles and comb. One wattle is still swollen.
2. Panting - almost wheezing
3. Mucous in her mouth
4. Chalky diarhea
5. Eyes open - but seemed catatonic and unresponsive to movements - we could simply pick her up - she didn't fight at all.
We bathed her by gently pouring cool water on her - under her wings - over her whole body. She sat in a bath of cool water for about 20 minutes and stopped wheezing. No more visible mucous. Flapped about a bit.
Now, 2 1/2 hours after finding her, she is sitting in a kennel in front of a fan and will not willingly eat or drink anything at all. I have water with nutridrench, grapes, tomatoes, feed. She will not even sip water willingly. I have dipped her beak and she mostly keeps it closed.
There is no evidence of any feces on her bedding (right now, she has a nesting pad and is sitting on puppy training pads in a 48" wire dog crate.
Questions:
1. Is it normal for a chicken to refuse all food and water after heat stroke? If so, for how long? When should I worry?
2. For how long will her one swollen wattle be puffy, and is there any treatment I should provide?
3. Is it possible she has neurological damage?
Thank you!
All other chickens are fine and eagerly free-ranged. We found her in the woods at 6pm tonight after 4 hours of free ranging in this condition:
1. Very dark red wattles and comb. One wattle is still swollen.
2. Panting - almost wheezing
3. Mucous in her mouth
4. Chalky diarhea
5. Eyes open - but seemed catatonic and unresponsive to movements - we could simply pick her up - she didn't fight at all.
We bathed her by gently pouring cool water on her - under her wings - over her whole body. She sat in a bath of cool water for about 20 minutes and stopped wheezing. No more visible mucous. Flapped about a bit.
Now, 2 1/2 hours after finding her, she is sitting in a kennel in front of a fan and will not willingly eat or drink anything at all. I have water with nutridrench, grapes, tomatoes, feed. She will not even sip water willingly. I have dipped her beak and she mostly keeps it closed.
There is no evidence of any feces on her bedding (right now, she has a nesting pad and is sitting on puppy training pads in a 48" wire dog crate.
Questions:
1. Is it normal for a chicken to refuse all food and water after heat stroke? If so, for how long? When should I worry?
2. For how long will her one swollen wattle be puffy, and is there any treatment I should provide?
3. Is it possible she has neurological damage?
Thank you!
