Question about an almost frozen hen

[mountainmolly]

Hi,

My adult Rhode Island Red, about 2 years old, apparently got stuck in the duck pond and could not get out. I have put cement blocks in the pond so all fowl have a perch, but for some reason I found her sitting on the cement block, almost dead. She was sitting in water covering 1/2 her body, so she was wet and cold. I have spent the last 2 hours drying and warming her up. First I toweled her off and then used the blow dryer. She appears to be dry, although after a bit off the blow dryer, her body starts to feel cold again, so I dry her some more. She is blinking and moving her feet, and did try to flap her wings. Anything else I should be doing? I have her in a crate with towels warmed in the clothes drier, but I don't know if I should keep aggressively blow drying her until she completely "comes to." Can I get her too hot?

Thanks, Patty Colorado

 

[Granny Hatchet]

sounds like she might be in shock,if she is warm and dry i would try to put her in a small cage covered with some heat added.

 

[enola]

You could try dipping her in a bucket of warm water (NOT hot) until she feels warm enough to move around on her own.

Then blow dry her to keep her from getting chilled again.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

when i was a child no more than 12 i was gifted a rir hen by my aunt. we lived in ky. and the weather was not bad but over night an ice storm did come and my mother woke me to say my poor pet was dead, frozen to the ground. we went to her and pried her feet out of the ice. also her wing tips were stuck too.after we broke her free i did hear waaak. she was alive ! as chickens were not coming in the house we put her under the house in a crawl space. she thawed out and not even a sniffle but it did something to her personality. she would bring me little snakes and anything else she thought i would like and drop them at my feet. boy i miss that chicken

 

[mountainmolly]

Well Rhoda seems to be fine after her "swim" in the cold water. She is moving around and ate a banana. I will keep her in the house in a crate for tonight so she doesn't get chilled (nights are getting cold here in Colorado) and then see how she does tomorrow. We are supposed to have a warm day tomorrow before snow blows in, so I hope she will be completely back to normal by then. The chicken coop is warm too.

Thanks all.

Patty