Saying goodbye to my favorite hen

[LaurenDickens]

I had to say goodbye to my favorite hen yesterday. Young sweet Phyllis, a beautiful Buff Orpington that I raised since she was about 4 days old. She always seemed the strongest. She was the mother hen of my flock of 3; the sweetest girl, she always ran up to me when I came outside, and followed me around the yard. She loved to be held and made to softest little peeps.

She was completely fine 3 days ago. Then, one evening she seemed very low energy, she kept lying down and wasn’t interested in being social, and she was always the butterfly. I thought it was just because of the heat (it’s in the 90s here in TX) and didn’t think anything of it. The next morning when I was emptying the catch tray, I noticed some maroon poop. I thought maybe it was because she ate cherries the day before but sensed it was something more since she was acting weird. She was drinking a lot of water, and not interested in food at all. After researching a bit I thought it may be Coccidiosis and I went to buy Corid from the feed store. I mixed the solution, and she drank a bit but I also syringed some into her mouth because I wasn’t sure she was drinking enough. I brought her inside and she was very listless and lethargic. I tried syringing some soft baby food just to get some nutrients to her but her crop was so full and boggy, it didn’t feel like it was emptying at all. She was pooping very thick, mucus filled bloody and white/yellow poop. Gave her more medicine before bed. The next day she had not improved, and her crop had not emptied. Tried to syringe more meds.

At this point I decided to call the vet because I’m not sure she’s even processing the medicine I’m giving her, everything just seemed to be sitting in her crop. When we get there they test the poop sample and it is a mean case of Coccidiosis. The vet was very concerned about the crop not emptying as well. She then showed me the skin over the crop in some areas looked almost maroon, black, brown towards the bottom. 3 days ago mind you her crop was emptying fine and she was running around without a care. At this point Phyllis is tilted forward, extremely hunched and fluffed up, can barely stand, and is resting her head on the side of crate I brought her in, eyes closed.

The vet gave me treatment options as well as euthanasia. She expressed how poorly Phyllis’s condition was and I agreed. I didn’t think I could handle the trauma of taking her back and her dying in the house, and I wasn’t sure that I could give her the best care if she did survive the night, as my wife and I had plans to visit family this weekend for her mother’s 70th birthday, so I decided to put her down.

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.

Any advice on dealing with this? Thoughts about her illness? It seems like it was an esspecially violent and aggressive strain of cocci. I’m just so hurt and lost.

 

[LaurenDickens]

She was the best layer...she layed every day since she start up until the day before she died. What a champ.

 

[Neighborhoodchick]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[Chebird]

So sad . . . God bless you as you are grieving.

 

[Spudsnsalsa]

So very sorry to read. Mother Nature can be a mystery sometimes so hoping you can accept it and not beat yourself up! You loved her and that is what mattered.

 

[Noreaster Egger]

Sorry to hear about this. I lost my first 2 pullets years ago from coccidiosis before I really knew what it was. Chickens get into a lot of stuff and things like this happen. Other than keeping their area clean, always having fresh water, and keeping them out of nasty puddles or muddy areas, there's not a lot more you can do. Try to catch it early and hit it with the max strength Corid dose ASAP.

I still beat myself up over the loss of those two. It's natural to always think that you could've done more. Hindsight is 20/20 though and we always have our best intentions for everything we love.

Before I got into raising chickens I accepted the fact that at some point I'm going to be dealing with a lot of rainbow bridges. It's easy to have a lot of birds at any one time and they don't live exceptionally long. When you do the calculus, you know those sad days are going to be inevitable the more you get attached to them. Really letting that all sink in to my brain helps me cope with it. I have no regrets naming them and getting attached to them anymore. We all have X amount of potential years on this Earth and I do my best to make their's the best possible. I truly feel like they have a happy, high quality of life with me so no matter how long they live, deep in my heart I like to think that they wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

It sounds like Phyllis was lucky to have you as an owner.

 

[coach723]

I'm so sorry. Some strains of coccidia are much more virulent than others. How old was she? The greatest risk is usually to younger birds who have not had exposure and a chance to build immunity. Older birds that are weakened by something else going on can be more susceptible also. Considering her condition, I think you did make the right decision. Some strains can cause an enormous amount of damage to the digestive tract and they can end up with necrotic enteritis. Since you know that you have coccidia in your environment it would be a good idea to keep Corid and Sulfa on hand so that you can treat quickly if needed. some strains don't respond to Corid. I know you are sad, but don't beat yourself up. Sometimes despite our best intentions things happen that we have no control over.

 

[LaurenDickens]

I'm so sorry. Some strains of coccidia are much more virulent than others. How old was she? The greatest risk is usually to younger birds who have not had exposure and a chance to build immunity. Older birds that are weakened by something else going on can be more susceptible also. Considering her condition, I think you did make the right decision. Some strains can cause an enormous amount of damage to the digestive tract and they can end up with necrotic enteritis. Since you know that you have coccidia in your environment it would be a good idea to keep Corid and Sulfa on hand so that you can treat quickly if needed. some strains don't respond to Corid. I know you are sad, but don't beat yourself up. Sometimes despite our best intentions things happen that we have no control over.

She was just about 9mo old. A terrific layer, and generally always seemed strongest.

 

[chickengr]

I had to say goodbye to my favorite hen yesterday. Young sweet Phyllis, a beautiful Buff Orpington that I raised since she was about 4 days old. She always seemed the strongest. She was the mother hen of my flock of 3; the sweetest girl, she always ran up to me when I came outside, and followed me around the yard. She loved to be held and made to softest little peeps.

She was completely fine 3 days ago. Then, one evening she seemed very low energy, she kept lying down and wasn’t interested in being social, and she was always the butterfly. I thought it was just because of the heat (it’s in the 90s here in TX) and didn’t think anything of it. The next morning when I was emptying the catch tray, I noticed some maroon poop. I thought maybe it was because she ate cherries the day before but sensed it was something more since she was acting weird. She was drinking a lot of water, and not interested in food at all. After researching a bit I thought it may be Coccidiosis and I went to buy Corid from the feed store. I mixed the solution, and she drank a bit but I also syringed some into her mouth because I wasn’t sure she was drinking enough. I brought her inside and she was very listless and lethargic. I tried syringing some soft baby food just to get some nutrients to her but her crop was so full and boggy, it didn’t feel like it was emptying at all. She was pooping very thick, mucus filled bloody and white/yellow poop. Gave her more medicine before bed. The next day she had not improved, and her crop had not emptied. Tried to syringe more meds.

At this point I decided to call the vet because I’m not sure she’s even processing the medicine I’m giving her, everything just seemed to be sitting in her crop. When we get there they test the poop sample and it is a mean case of Coccidiosis. The vet was very concerned about the crop not emptying as well. She then showed me the skin over the crop in some areas looked almost maroon, black, brown towards the bottom. 3 days ago mind you her crop was emptying fine and she was running around without a care. At this point Phyllis is tilted forward, extremely hunched and fluffed up, can barely stand, and is resting her head on the side of crate I brought her in, eyes closed.

The vet gave me treatment options as well as euthanasia. She expressed how poorly Phyllis’s condition was and I agreed. I didn’t think I could handle the trauma of taking her back and her dying in the house, and I wasn’t sure that I could give her the best care if she did survive the night, as my wife and I had plans to visit family this weekend for her mother’s 70th birthday, so I decided to put her down.

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.

Any advice on dealing with this? Thoughts about her illness? It seems like it was an esspecially violent and aggressive strain of cocci. I’m just so hurt and lost.

sorry for your loss. you did the right thing. she would have died anyway after more suffering.

 

[coach723]

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.