Put her down? Need advise, please.

[timco]

I want to be as humane and responsible as possible and need some advise please. A 3 year old RIR is waddling around because her stomach or lower bowel area is totally swollen. I lubed up with a surgical glove and my finger came back blood and stool even though I was very gentle and careful.

Any thoughts?

 

[thebritt]

Could she be eggbound? Notice any yolk or broken shell fragments?

 

[Lesa]

I read posts on this sight for a year, before I got chickens. The one thing I never really saw addressed, was that when your chickens got older- things were going to go bad quickly. Unfortunately, for hatchery birds, I think this is often the case. Once my RIR's hit the 2 year mark, a few became egg bound. I invested in a kill cone and try to not to let them suffer. I also try to remember that these birds are farm animals and not pets (I realize this is not true for everyone.) I say "thank you" for all the beautiful eggs and dispatch them quickly. Good luck!

 

[timco]

No egg fragments at all.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
Does her lower bowel feel hard, or mushy?

 

[timco]

Quote:
Does her lower bowel feel hard, or mushy?

Very mushy, kinda bloated. Looks stretched out.

 

[thebritt]

You could try soaking her rear in warm water. I get a 5 gal bucket or an old dish pan, put it in the tub, and I lean over, holding the chicken in place. Sometimes they kind of perch on the edge of whatever it is, and I hold their back end under the warm water. They seem to like it and relax. Try a 5 - 10 minute soak and see if that helps anything "move along", so to speak. Maybe try a new topic describing what you are seeing? Hopefully someone can chime in w/more info for you.

 

[purpletree23]

She could be an internal layer or have an infection of her reproductive tract. I'm sorry but I don't see her getting better after what you described.

Quick is what you are looking for when culling. You can do a search here for suggestions.

IMHO some of the methods that people have used or suggested border on cruel. Think quick and humane and (sorry to say this) how you would want to go if it were you. A vet will usually put an animal down for a small fee because they don't want to see them suffer either. That's the best advise I can give.

 

[timco]

Thank you all for your input. I went out earlier to check on her and she was on her side, one leg stuck out. Not good at all......so I took care of it and can assure you that she never felt a thing. Very fast. Very sad. I now these are farm animals but they do become pets for some of us, and there is nothing easy about this part of the responsibility that comes with keeping chickens.

Again, thanks for the replies.

Tim

 

[Lesa]

You are so right, Tim.... nothing easy about it. But, I think you did the responsible thing.