Sour crop question…is it time to euthanize?

[Apags18]

I asked my rehabber friend to take her, as her crop was not moving and she was getting dehydrated. One morning, she found her dead. She thinks she aspirated. I asked my friend to take her because she would be able to euthanize her, but since my hen still looked interested in eating she kept treating her. I should have just brought her myself to the vet to get euthanized. I never could have predicted when she would have passed -- she was a very strong girl. Heaviest Easter Egger, but strong and stout. Best personality, never flightly.

I appreciate you sharing your story with me.

 

[Apags18]

I’m so sorry that you’re at this cross roads it’s never an easy decision to make, but you’re making all of the right considerations and you’ll choose the right decision for you and her.

If it’s any help to hear, my Fiona, pictured in my profile, had pendulous crop and I tried everything to cure it. Her breast feathers never grew back but she was such a sweet girl and total fire cracker—loved being held and eventually regained enough confidence that she wasn’t lowest on the pecking order. I know chickens can hide their ailments well, but she really adapted to life with pendulous crop and kept up with the rest of the flock. I’d occasionally find her puffed up whenever her crop got really full, but otherwise she was quite lively and resilient! She lived to be 1.5 before she disappeared one day, unrelated to her crop. Molts seem miserable for all chickens, but maybe she’ll bounce back after she’s done molting?

Good luck! Sending you lots of love

Thank your for sharing. Truffles also adjusted well over the spring, summer, and fall to her pendulous crops. I had hoped she would stay that way. Then she went broody in Oct and because she was sitting for so long on the nest and not eating much her crop got so tiny. I was really hoping we had turned a corner! Then her molt started about 2ish weeks ago and her crop started to grow again, but to the size it had been throughout the year, so we figured she’d be ok. But clearly something else was wrong, because we had never seen it this size before. I think the combo of her not getting enough nutrition and then her body using nutrients to grow more feathers made her lose weight and decline so fast. She was such a strong willed hen. I’m going to miss her!

 

[hammyanne]

I added a picture of her last night with her bonded sister, Peanut Butter. Those two were always together. I’m definitely sad for PB. I know chickens don’t grieve like us, but I still am sad for her. PB seems to be doing ok though. I also added of photo of her from just a couple months ago laying in the sun. Her feathers never did grow back on her chest but she adjusted. I’m just relieved she’s no longer suffering.

What a gorgeous girl! Sending you a virtual hug. You did the humane thing. Often chickens don't get enough credit for being companion animals with full lives—there's nothing more heartbreaking than watching a living thing grow and then having to watch it pass. It's okay and completely normal to grieve.

I'm glad she had a proper send off with some treats! Hopefully she's moved onto the next realm with a trail of seeds nearby. Maybe she and Fiona are hanging out together with fully functioning crops ◡̈

 

[Apags18]

What a gorgeous girl! Sending you a virtual hug. You did the humane thing. Often chickens don't get enough credit for being companion animals with full lives—there's nothing more heartbreaking than watching a living thing grow and then having to watch it pass. It's okay and completely normal to grieve.

I'm glad she had a proper send off with some treats! Hopefully she's moved onto the next realm with a trail of seeds nearby. Maybe she and Fiona are hanging out together with fully functioning crops ◡̈

Thank you! I told her before she passed to have fun with her other sisters she had grown up with, Jellybean and Dozy, who passed last year from a dog attack. When the vet injected her with the sedative she did get scared but I held her in my arms (she hadn’t been letting me do that recently). She seemed to feel safe there. When the vet said she had passed I felt sadness but definitely more so a relief. It was so hard to see her like that.