Sick Chicken?

[WindcrestChickens]

Hi All - We had a cold spell and one of our girls did not get in out of the cold. I noticed she had been huddling away from the others for a few days but didn't think anything of it. Then my husband found her half frozen and tipped over. Her feet were frozen solid. I brought her in, warmed her up and got her feet moving again. She took some food and water and clucked happily. Now it is 2 days later and she is just sitting in the box we made for her. Her coloring is off, her comb was bright red and in the past day or so it has turned gray. She hardly moves.

Any suggestions?

 

[swtangel321]

Any sneezing or other signs of being sick ? Sounds like she just got chilled and is taking some time to recover from it !!

Is her comb turing blackish ? That is a sign of frostbite and with the weather we have been having is very likely !!

Can/will she walk at all ?


If you dont mind me asking, where in NH are you from ?

 

[WindcrestChickens]

No sneezing etc. very quiet overall. She will walk, but only if "forced". Her comb is speckled white and gray - I wondered about frostbite.

We are in East Kingston.

 

[swtangel321]

Can you get a pic of her comb and post it ??

When you force her to walk is it a normal walk ??

 

[WindcrestChickens]

Hi....sorry to say but she just died about 10 minutes ago. I am so sad - surprisingly so.

Now, what do I do with her?

 

[swtangel321]

OMG !!! So sorry

You did the best you could, i'm sure you were great to her !!


If we have a chicken die or that needs to be culled, hubby puts it in a few trash bags and takes it to the dump. We have dogs so we cant bury them. If you dont have a dump you could put them in your trash (inside a few bags) Its so cold the body will freeze, just make sure you put your lid on tight so no animals get to it before they pick it up !! You could also burn it if you ever have bond fires (I dont like that idea but people do it) From what I have heard it smells a little.

Again, So sorry.....

 

[WindcrestChickens]

Oh thanks...you're sweet!

We wrapped her up and put her in the barn. I kind of want to bury her and my husband is rolling his eyes at me

Where in NH are you btw?

 

[swtangel321]

Well with the weather she will be fine for a little while being frozen, Besides not being able to bury mine b/c of the dogs I dont do it b/c.... If your hen had some kind of diease and you bury her in the ground her body will at some point start to decay, and that will go into the soil. Not sure what kind of problems this can cause but i've heard a lot of talk about it

I know its hard to put em in the trash or take them to the dump, but seems the safest and best way to me.

I am right above Plymouth NH, do you know where that is ??