Our poor chicken had gout

[Chikn-Wisperer]

We put down our chicken today. She had gout. She had swelling of her feet for the past 1-2 weeks, but the gout may have occurred even before then. Our vet said that if we caught it early by testing kidney function, there was some treatment, but with the swelling it's like she's walking on razor blades. We put her down this morning.

I'm still not sure if we should have done it. The wife and the vet thinks it was best for her. But a life is a life. Once gone, it's gone. I'm not sure we made the right decision. She still enjoyed the sunshine, eating watermelon, peanuts, cheese, grapes, grapes-to-be (small green grape flowers), and tomatoes! She loved tomatoes with the skin peeled.

I really miss her. I hope we did the right thing.

Our chicken also had a tumor, her life would have ended early. Another vet said it might have been related to her kidney failure. She was a leghorn, and had the cancer since at least November 2023. She was starting to slow down, unexpectedly. It wasn't until we took her to the vet when she first started showing signs of some trouble walking. But that was April 9, 2024. The vet wanted to put her down then, but didn't mention gout back then. We took her to a different vet this past April 29th who said that we could just let her live and she could die in her sleep.

The vet we saw today mentioned that she was in excruciating pain. I guess chickens don't show they are in pain. She looked happy to me. But the wife said she was in pain. I felt that she trusted us. I don't know if she wanted to live or die. I think she would prefer to live, but I don't know for sure. I hope that she forgives us.

 

[MichellesChickens]

So sorry, the hard parts of having animals. I like to they they know we are looking out for their best interest if we have to choose to to say goodbye.

 

[LaFleche]

We put down our chicken today. She had gout. She had swelling of her feet for the past 1-2 weeks, but the gout may have occurred even before then. Our vet said that if we caught it early by testing kidney function, there was some treatment, but with the swelling it's like she's walking on razor blades. We put her down this morning.

I'm still not sure if we should have done it. The wife and the vet thinks it was best for her. But a life is a life. Once gone, it's gone. I'm not sure we made the right decision. She still enjoyed the sunshine, eating watermelon, peanuts, cheese, grapes, and grapes-to-be (small green grape flowers).

I really miss her. I hope we did the right thing.

Our chicken also had a tumor, her life would have ended early. Another vet said it might have been related to her kidney failure. She was a leghorn, and had the cancer since at least November 2023. She was starting to slow down, unexpectedly. It wasn't until we took her to the vet when she first started showing signs of some trouble walking. But that was April 9, 2024. The vet wanted to put her down then, but didn't mention gout back then. We took her to a different vet this past April 29th who said that we could just let her live and she could die in her sleep.

The vet we saw today mentioned that she was in excruciating pain. I guess chickens don't show they are in pain. She looked happy to me. But the wife said she was in pain. I felt that she trusted us. I don't know if she wanted to live or die. I think she would prefer to live, but I don't know for sure. I hope that she forgives us.

It is the greatest last kindness and also responsibility as an animal owner to help them out of their misery and prevent ongoing suffering, distress and infirmity.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am sorry for your loss. Chickens are very stoic and good at hiding their discomfort. I tend to leave my chickens with their flock until they appear to be suffering, or if the other chickens start picking on them, as they do since they can since one is dying. But since she had cancer, you made the right decision to prevent her from suffering a lot of pain. You also got the job done well, since sometimes putting a chicken down can be tricky. Sorry for your loss. We all get attached to those we are trying to help.

 

[alinas2010]

I’m so very sorry for your loss. You went above and beyond what many people would do. Don’t feel like you made the wrong decision, the gout and kidney failure were one thing, but cancer can be an excruciatingly painful and difficult downhill battle, too. You did the kind thing for her. Anyone who’s ever suffered through cancer will tell you that. As hard as it is to loose one of our fluffy friends, it also opens our hearts for healing in that we no longer have to watch them suffer through any pain or discomfort.

 

[cate1124]

We put down our chicken today. She had gout. She had swelling of her feet for the past 1-2 weeks, but the gout may have occurred even before then. Our vet said that if we caught it early by testing kidney function, there was some treatment, but with the swelling it's like she's walking on razor blades. We put her down this morning.

I'm still not sure if we should have done it. The wife and the vet thinks it was best for her. But a life is a life. Once gone, it's gone. I'm not sure we made the right decision. She still enjoyed the sunshine, eating watermelon, peanuts, cheese, grapes, grapes-to-be (small green grape flowers), and tomatoes! She loved tomatoes with the skin peeled.

I really miss her. I hope we did the right thing.

Our chicken also had a tumor, her life would have ended early. Another vet said it might have been related to her kidney failure. She was a leghorn, and had the cancer since at least November 2023. She was starting to slow down, unexpectedly. It wasn't until we took her to the vet when she first started showing signs of some trouble walking. But that was April 9, 2024. The vet wanted to put her down then, but didn't mention gout back then. We took her to a different vet this past April 29th who said that we could just let her live and she could die in her sleep.

The vet we saw today mentioned that she was in excruciating pain. I guess chickens don't show they are in pain. She looked happy to me. But the wife said she was in pain. I felt that she trusted us. I don't know if she wanted to live or die. I think she would prefer to live, but I don't know for sure. I hope that she forgives us.

These are just hard decisions; you did your best.

It's my experience that chickens actually do express pain, through slumped posture, ruffled feathers, piloerection (sporadic lifting and settling of feathers), immobility and desire (or lack of) to be with flock. At least those are the things I look for, though I'm sure not all hens express pain in the same way.

Pain or no, though, getting around is really important to quality of life for a chicken, so if gout made walking as painful as described for your girl and could not be resolved, that would make euthanasia a kind choice. In any case, please don't second-guess yourself. We make the best call we can. Like you, I've asked my girls for forgiveness when I doubt if I've gotten it right, and who among us can ever know for certain?

Re. cancer: just posted in this forum my experience with dexamethasone for my old black Australorp who had tumors. (Trouble walking can be a sign of tumors impinging on nerves.) It restored great quality of life for several weeks; I'd never used this steroid before, and it truly worked a miracle for her. It requires an RX, but because you are working with vets, you could get that. It is inexpensive and can be dosed orally. Mentioning this in case you should have another hen who is showing signs of tumors. Obviously not a cure, but for some birds, at least, it can restore temporarily a good quality of life.

Very sorry for your loss. I just put an elder in the ground this morning (heart failure). It always hurts.

 

[Chikn-Wisperer]

These are just hard decisions; you did your best.

It's my experience that chickens actually do express pain, through slumped posture, ruffled feathers, piloerection (sporadic lifting and settling of feathers), immobility and desire (or lack of) to be with flock. At least those are the things I look for, though I'm sure not all hens express pain in the same way.

Pain or no, though, getting around is really important to quality of life for a chicken, so if gout made walking as painful as described for your girl and could not be resolved, that would make euthanasia a kind choice. In any case, please don't second-guess yourself. We make the best call we can. Like you, I've asked my girls for forgiveness when I doubt if I've gotten it right, and who among us can ever know for certain?

Re. cancer: just posted in this forum my experience with dexamethasone for my old black Australorp who had tumors. (Trouble walking can be a sign of tumors impinging on nerves.) It restored great quality of life for several weeks; I'd never used this steroid before, and it truly worked a miracle for her. It requires an RX, but because you are working with vets, you could get that. It is inexpensive and can be dosed orally. Mentioning this in case you should have another hen who is showing signs of tumors. Obviously not a cure, but for some birds, at least, it can restore temporarily a good quality of life.

Very sorry for your loss. I just put an elder in the ground this morning (heart failure). It always hurts.

Thanks for the kind words. She was so kind, gentle, and curious. I still miss her greatly. We also have another chik'n whose had cancer since early 2023, if not earlier. We are using amikacyn (sp?) and deramaxx on her. She gets her belly drained regularly, but we are needing "luck" to get more out. She's lived a long time with cancer. She is lucky to have survived this long. She is also kind and smart.

 

[cate1124]

Thanks for the kind words. She was so kind, gentle, and curious. I still miss her greatly. We also have another chik'n whose had cancer since early 2023, if not earlier. We are using amikacyn (sp?) and deramaxx on her. She gets her belly drained regularly, but we are needing "luck" to get more out. She's lived a long time with cancer. She is lucky to have survived this long. She is also kind and smart.

You sound like such a sweet soul, appreciating your hens as you do. You might try dex at the end of your cancer girl's life, if it seems she is having difficulty with pain related to inflammation.

Re. gout, I had my mixed flock (four, now two, elders) and four still laying on an all-flock ration, 20 percent protein, providing oyster shell for my layers. My vet recommended I go back down to 16 percent layer crumbles, despite common advice that the calcium in layer ration can be harmful to non-laying hens. She said problems with too much protein -- including gout, though I'm sure there are other causes -- are more common than calcium toxicity. (I will say here, too, that my flock leader, a buff Orpington about to be 10, is still occasionally delivering an egg. Wild!)

Good luck! I am winding down my hen-keeping days and will miss their beauty, their industry, their company. But I will not miss difficult end-of-life care decisions. It's tough!

 

[Chikn-Wisperer]

You sound like such a sweet soul, appreciating your hens as you do. You might try dex at the end of your cancer girl's life, if it seems she is having difficulty with pain related to inflammation.

Re. gout, I had my mixed flock (four, now two, elders) and four still laying on an all-flock ration, 20 percent protein, providing oyster shell for my layers. My vet recommended I go back down to 16 percent layer crumbles, despite common advice that the calcium in layer ration can be harmful to non-laying hens. She said problems with too much protein -- including gout, though I'm sure there are other causes -- are more common than calcium toxicity. (I will say here, too, that my flock leader, a buff Orpington about to be 10, is still occasionally delivering an egg. Wild!)

Good luck! I am winding down my hen-keeping days and will miss their beauty, their industry, their company. But I will not miss difficult end-of-life care decisions. It's tough!

Thank you, Cate1124. We love our chickens and hanging out in the backyard with them. We think these might be our last chickens, but we just don't know yet. They are so sweet. Maybe those type of decisions are the price for having them in our lives.

 

[cate1124]

Thank you, Cate1124. We love our chickens and hanging out in the backyard with them. We think these might be our last chickens, but we just don't know yet. They are so sweet. Maybe those type of decisions are the price for having them in our lives.

I think that's so. Best to you, Chikn-Wisperer!