RIP Big Red Hen. Thank you all for your kind words and support

[Farmerbetsy]

I made the decision to take the RIR in to the emergency vet. I was feeling really unsure about feeling for an egg and she seemed to really be suffering. At that point I'd made the commitment to help her and it seemed inhumane to stick her back out in the cold, or to just leave her suffer. The vet was extremely kind. He did some daignostics (xray AND ultrasound) and determined she had acute peritonitis, she had passed an egg into her abdominal cavity and there was enormous fluid built up around it. They started to treat her with oxygen as she was starting to have trouble breathing due to the pressure of the fluid on her lungs/breathing apparatus.

The choices were: aspirate the fluid multiple times over the next weeks and treat her with massive antibiotics, or; do surgery to remove the mass, fluid, oviduct, and ovary. The first would cost multiple hundreds of dollars, the next, well into the thousands.

He explained these choices and the risks very thoroughly, and said, look, I love chickens, I love operating on chickens, there is a chance she could make it but there's a very big chance she would not survive the surgery. If this were my bird, I wouldn't do it.

I opted to euthanize her. He put a tube down her throat and gave her an overdose of tranqs. After two minutes of struggling for breath, she put her little head down on my shoulder, took her last breath, and died in my arms. It was a sad but peaceful way to go.

the doctor didn't charge me for ANY of the procedures including the euthenasia, he gave me an 80% courtesy discount. I was so grateful, it would have been enormously expensive. It was still expensive (because he's the emergency vet, not my regular vet, they charge a lot more on holiday weekends and for emergency dropins).

so that s the end of the RIR saga.

 

[Imp]

So sorry

Imp

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

I'm so sorry - difficult decision.

I hope you can get another chick or chicken or even more than one soon to replace her. Not take her place - that's not possible but at least to provide some companionship - I know I was saying today I would like to get some Black Jersey Giant eggs from a local breeder of high quality birds to hatch this spring and my husband just looked at me like I am crazy and said, "Don't you have ENOUGH chickens ALREADY?"

I looked around the barn and as sweetly as I could say, I said, "No."

 

[Farmerbetsy]

I think we will stick with our seven for a while. You can't get just one chick and we don't really need three new ones at this point!! although 2 or 3 are not laying any more, the freeloading old ladies.

 

[chicachic]

I am so sorry to hear about your hen being euthanized. It doesn't matter the kind of animal, it's still hard to do.

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

I am so sorry! That is such an awful place to be in!
I don't know what i'd do...

You did a brave thing, *huggs*
You will be in my thougts x