Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Tomtommom]

I've been agonizing over my sweet little hen, Baby. She's been ill and I don't think she'll get better.. but she just keeps on trucking. *sigh* She passed a LOT of big fleshy clumps a few days ago, along with other nasty looking things. She continues to look sick... It all screams egg peritonitis to me. But making the call is so hard. She's the sweetest little thing. She even had her picture on the front page of BYC!

She's mid-molt, so silly me holds out hope she's just having a rough time with molting.

She's lost a lot of weight, isn't eating much at all.... I know what I need to do, but I can't. Normally I am not at all like that, but she's so sweet. Argh!

 

[ronott1]

I've been agonizing over my sweet little hen, Baby. She's been ill and I don't think she'll get better.. but she just keeps on trucking. *sigh* She passed a LOT of big fleshy clumps a few days ago, along with other nasty looking things. She continues to look sick... It all screams egg peritonitis to me. But making the call is so hard. She's the sweetest little thing. She even had her picture on the front page of BYC!

She's mid-molt, so silly me holds out hope she's just having a rough time with molting.

She's lost a lot of weight, isn't eating much at all.... I know what I need to do, but I can't. Normally I am not at all like that, but she's so sweet. Argh!

It is more likely to be a cancer.

It would be best to cull her and then see what was going on inside the reproductive tract.

I am so sorry!

 

[CrazyTalk]

I have set the time for Saturday at dusk when the other chickens will be asleep. My husband has gone so far as to offer to make me a cone. If I chicken out, so be it. I'm going to have my instructions handy, and this thread open. Wish me luck...

If you're going to do it at dusk, and it's your first time (and you're doing it outside), make sure you have plenty of supplemental light.

The last batch I did I started too late in the day, and it's really not pleasant to do when you don't have enough light. everything takes longer.

 

[Tomtommom]

It is more likely to be a cancer.

It would be best to cull her and then see what was going on inside the reproductive tract.

I am so sorry!

Yeah, I know it. Her abdomen is hard.. I expect a large mass to be causing her issue. I've been letting her free-range more, petting her (she seems to enjoy that), sort of like hospice care. She's holding her own. I suppose I am looking for signs of suffering, making the choice easier. She's walking slow and not really eating, but she's alert and doing chicken-y things.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I've been agonizing over my sweet little hen, Baby. She's been ill and I don't think she'll get better.. but she just keeps on trucking. *sigh* She passed a LOT of big fleshy clumps a few days ago, along with other nasty looking things. She continues to look sick... It all screams egg peritonitis to me. But making the call is so hard. She's the sweetest little thing. She even had her picture on the front page of BYC!

She's mid-molt, so silly me holds out hope she's just having a rough time with molting.

She's lost a lot of weight, isn't eating much at all.... I know what I need to do, but I can't. Normally I am not at all like that, but she's so sweet. Argh!

I'm sorry.

It's always tough to make that decision.

 

[LindaB220]

Oh that's a great idea, after dusk. Tomorrow I will be processing one roo and one drake... Never done a duck before and never my own birds... I think I will cry. It's seen too me it's going be harder to do only two birds.... They will seem so individual rather than doing a large group when it all just turns into a flow, head down, *** up.... Just work.
My DH ( until recently a vegetarian ) will do the killing I the holding and processing... Any advice on the ducks processing would be appreciated, wish me luck and swift clean kills.

Yes, good luck on the ducks. Keep in touch about how it went.

 

[LindaB220]

Yeah, I know it. Her abdomen is hard.. I expect a large mass to be causing her issue. I've been letting her free-range more, petting her (she seems to enjoy that), sort of like hospice care. She's holding her own. I suppose I am looking for signs of suffering, making the choice easier. She's walking slow and not really eating, but she's alert and doing chicken-y things.

Sorry, honey, I know you want to keep her.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Yeah, I know it. Her abdomen is hard.. I expect a large mass to be causing her issue. I've been letting her free-range more, petting her (she seems to enjoy that), sort of like hospice care. She's holding her own. I suppose I am looking for signs of suffering, making the choice easier. She's walking slow and not really eating, but she's alert and doing chicken-y things.

The hardness in the belly is likely fluid, which can be from a lot of reasons--liver problems, heart failure, internal egg laying. All kinds of reasons. I had a really sweet hen that never laid an egg externally. She was the sweetest, prettiest little hen. I even spent the money to take her to the vet. He agreed, she was full of fluid from suspected internally laying eggs. He said she wasn't suffering and at that point didn't need to be euthanized. He told me eventually the pressure would build up so much that she would not be able to breathe and THEN something needed to be done. He said she might go downhill really fast, but today she was happy. Also, infection could set in. I let her be and she got bigger and heavier as she puttered around being a sweet thing. It became apparent when she really needed to be euthanized. I didn't have the stomach to do it (I culled my absolutely favorite hen a few weeks before and it just killed me to do it) so took her back to the vet and asked him to euthanize her. A complete waste of money on my part, but I just couldn't do it.

 

[Happy Chooks]

The hardness in the belly is likely fluid, which can be from a lot of reasons--liver problems, heart failure, internal egg laying. All kinds of reasons. I had a really sweet hen that never laid an egg externally. She was the sweetest, prettiest little hen. I even spent the money to take her to the vet. He agreed, she was full of fluid from suspected internally laying eggs. He said she wasn't suffering and at that point didn't need to be euthanized. He told me eventually the pressure would build up so much that she would not be able to breathe and THEN something needed to be done. He said she might go downhill really fast, but today she was happy. Also, infection could set in. I let her be and she got bigger and heavier as she puttered around being a sweet thing. It became apparent when she really needed to be euthanized. I didn't have the stomach to do it (I culled my absolutely favorite hen a few weeks before and it just killed me to do it) so took her back to the vet and asked him to euthanize her. A complete waste of money on my part, but I just couldn't do it.

I understand your feelings here. I had an English Orpington that despite rear trimming and keeping her back end clean, ended up with maggots in her rear. I tried to save her, washed all I could find out and separated her. The next morning, when I checked on her, the smell of necrotic tissue was overwhelming. I realized that she could not be saved and needed her put down ASAP. I couldn't bring myself to do it, she was a huge bird, and I was terrified of botching it and causing her to suffer more than she already was. I called my step dad, and he drove up and dispatched her for me. I had the hole already dug, and we just laid her in it and buried her.

There are certain birds that just melt their way into your heart. Of course, those special ones are the first we lose to predators too.

I found out afterwards that hens that have laying issues can change their poop, causing more attraction from flies. Her poop was like tar in the end, but at the time, I didn't know any better. She was never a fantastic layer, so that wasn't any indication either.

This was her:

 

[hennible]

Beautiful girl.