Overheated Hen Died Yesterday - Remember to keep them cool

[remuda1]

Quote:
You were just lucky.

JJ

Must have been. I guess everyone else I know who had chickens back then was lucky too. Wonder why.

Fewer people, fewer predators, fewer diseases, hardier stock, less pollution. Simpler times. Just my .02.

 

[MadHatcher]

Thank you everyone for all of your support! I'm feeling much better today. We finally got some rain yesterday and the wildfire smoke has diminished some since then. My little flock looked very happy yesterday - not even panting!

I wonder if maybe their breed does have something to do with it - you know "hardier stock."

They're Araucana and I've heard they tend to be more delicate as chicks and more of a challenge to hatch so I wonder if that doesn't somehow play a part in their sensitivity to weather changes.

Sometimes I think about just going to the feed store and picking out a handful of colorful unknowns - thinking that they might indeed be better adapted to this climate... but then I worry about integrating them and all of the cross contamination issues that go along with it.

My 6 week old chick will be ready to go outside with her parents soon and hopefully my little broody hens hard work will pay off any day now and I'll see a new fluffy butt bouncing around the backyard.

I do know that since my birds are as "natural" as I can make possible that they are probably at risk to all sorts of common bird ailments. Feeding them medicated food or getting them vaccinated didn't really seem like a good choice for me... so if that does play a part in losing one out of 5 after almost 10 months - I can live with that.

Choices in life are often hard to make. I felt that the vaccination/medication issue was one of those for me. Now - I have to live with the consequences because I know I'm making the choices I feel are the best for my birds.

The veterinarian they receive care from is always amazed by my seriousness to ensure that they receive the very best of food, shelter, medical evaluation and treatment when needed. Even though he is fully equipped to treat chickens - he almost never sees them. People normally extend vet visits to their indoor birds such as parrots - not to their chickens.

However, being the bleeding heart that I am when one of my roosters developed an unknown black crusty spot on his beak - I paid out almost $200 in diagnostics and medication to get it resolved. Now my efforts have paid off because he is healthy and happy as can be. SO -- I'm trying to take comfort in the fact that even though I do make less than popular decisions as far as non-traditional (hardy) breeds and then deciding to not medicate or vaccinate them... I try to provide healthy organic feed and supplement with real healthful food and free range... and also ensure that they get their fecal samples tested regularly for parasites and disease... and that they are regularly seen and examined by a health professional to ensure that I am being advised on their health and any steps to take to ensure their happiness...

It does make it harder to lose one though sometimes because of this too... it just doesn't seem right that I try so hard and fail anyway!

But - I'm trying to stay positive! lol

I don't think that this death was from disease or from her not being provided for... it was simply her constitution to survive in a heat index of 106 without some sort of external way to cool down... a beginners mistake on my part.

That is why I posted here in the first place - hoping others will learn from my misfortune and take steps to ensure they don't suffer a loss of one of their beloved feathered friends. It is also amazing to hear everyone telling their own stories and giving me very appreciated support as well.

Thank you!

 

[EweSheep]

I lost one last week due to heat exhaustion. She was fine that morning and all the birds had shade, cool dirt holes and Gatorade flavored diluted with water. All the others were fine except for her. She was past that point of recovery and she expired sometime in the night. She was not even a year old yet.

Some birds just don't know how to keep cool and they persist to sit out in the HOT sun when you try to get them into cooler areas. Stupidity would kill them eventually, so that is why we don't have too many stupid birds.

 

[CariLynn]

Not knowing how to say this I am going to just say it...how does loosing a fetus have anything to do with the care you give your animals? I have been a farm girl all my life, and through all sorts of trauma and pain, our animals always got the best possible care because they depend on us to take care of them. Maybe I view things differently than others and are a bit more "harsh" than some.

In VA, our temperatures have hit the high 90's for a few weeks and when our chickens started to pant I would give them cold fruit, ice cubes in their water, and got two medium fans to put in their run on either side to create a cross wind to keep them cool, their coop is in the shade tree's and I check on them often during the day.

 

[MadHatcher]

Oh! CariLynn - I in no way meant to imply that my loss had anything to do with the care I give to my animals.

Totally separate issues for me indeed! lol

I was trying to say (perhaps not very clearly) that because I am already sad and grieving from the loss of my baby that I wasn't in a good position to handle this further sadness.

That's all.

 

[seminolewind]

Will chickens really go into a wading pool? I've just been running the hose on the ground.

 

[chickengrl]

Quote:
She is already sad and emotional, any other difficulty will seem magnified several times over. I completely understand what she means about being hit hard by the loss of her hen when she also feels that maybe she could have done things differently.

Op, really sorry about the loss of your hen and the loss of your pregnancy. It's a pain that cannot be understood unless you go through it yourself. Thanks for posting your story so that we can all learn a little from your terrible experience.