Saying goodbye to my favorite hen

[Pretty Birds]

I cried all day yesterday and I’m crying as I write this. It’s my first time raising chickens and I feel a little silly about it, but I can’t help but feel like I made the wrong choice, or that I could have done something more to save her. I never expected to get this attached to her, and it hurts bad.

It is not silly to cry over chickens. I have raised them for over five years, and have cried over every bird I lost. Death of animals is very hard, but it is a part of farming.
I think you made the right choice to put her down.
I just had to put a pullet down because she had wry neck for over a month. I fed her through a dropper three times a day along with meds, and she kept getting worse. I do not regret my decision because I was keeping her alive in pain. She was a favorite chicken, and it is hard, but it was for the better.

 

[Noreaster Egger]

She may not have built good immunity, may have had an underlying condition you were not aware of (even worms can weaken them), or your environment may have had a coccidia 'bloom' in which the numbers explode and are too much for the birds immune system to handle. Warm, wet, rainy periods with the right soil can cause large numbers to suddenly be available in the environment. I'm always extra careful to watch for signs when the conditions are good for it. It wasn't your fault, things happen no matter how careful and observant we are.

Yeah and I’ll add that it’s important to get new chicks acclimated to your soil as soon as possible. Those 2 pullets I previously mentioned were brought in at 7 weeks. The other original 10 were day old chicks. I feel like I missed that window with those 2 where they build their best immunity to the local coccidia.

 

[LaurenDickens]

Yeah and I’ll add that it’s important to get new chicks acclimated to your soil as soon as possible. Those 2 pullets I previously mentioned were brought in at 7 weeks. The other original 10 were day old chicks. I feel like I missed that window with those 2 where they build their best immunity to the local coccidia.

They had been on the soil since I first let them out as 7 week olds. It has been a particularly wet spring, but I hear the incubation period for cocci is only days, and it hasn't rained in a week at least. This makes me think she could have had it longer, just wasn't showing signs yet. I did notice that her poops were harder/dryer and smaller than the other chickens more recently, could that be a sign? I read that once blood shows in their poop they're pretty far along. The vet also said she was skinny, but she had alway been more slight than my australorp. My ameraucana is smaller than both. And she seemed to eat quite well before getting sick, always a nice full little golf ball before roosting.

I try my best to keep their water as clean as possible, and bought a dripper to try to convert them to that (any tips on training them!?). Only Phyllis seemed interested in it

I'm treating the other two with the corid and will continue for the 5 days treatment, and will likely treat again in a few weeks.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. Sometimes getting a necropsy done by the state vet after a chicken dies can uncover other underlying problems they may be suffering from. At her age, coccidiosis may have been due to some immunity issue. Chickens can become loved pets that we enjoy being around and interacting with, and we do miss them. It is very easy to doubt your decisions when it comes to a loved pet.

 

[amanda1]

I am so sorry. I cry every time I lose one. I absolutely think you did what was right for her. I have made the choice that I’d rather suffer heartache than allow my beloved pets to suffer. She had a great life with you, and when she depended on you to prevent her suffering, you did. I’m learning in year 5 with chickens that you can take every precaution, and do everything “right “ yet sickness and death will happen. In the end, it’s still all worth it.

 

[Unicornlife3316]

So sorry for your loss. She was very loved and I’m sure she knew that.