Thin, diarrhea, tired, out of ideas...please help

[christwodog]

Sorry to hear your beautiful hen is not doing well. I hope she recovers but if not, it sounds like she has had a wonderful long life with you. I don't have any advice, the others here have so much more experience than I do. I would feed her as long as she took it willingly, like Lazy Gardener said. I will hope for the best for her, this is the only part about chicken-keeping that I dislike, I feel like my heart breaks every time I lose one!

 

[pineapple416]

Sorry to hear your beautiful hen is not doing well. I hope she recovers but if not, it sounds like she has had a wonderful long life with you. I don't have any advice, the others here have so much more experience than I do. I would feed her as long as she took it willingly, like Lazy Gardener said. I will hope for the best for her, this is the only part about chicken-keeping that I dislike, I feel like my heart breaks every time I lose one!

Thank you. I know it feels like every time I lose one a little piece of my heart goes with them.

 

[Kiki]

I thought I would post some pictures of her in her prime to lighten the mood a little and help myself feel better.

View attachment 1255599 View attachment 1255600 View attachment 1255601
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[Kiki]

IF you want to feed her...by all means feed her.
Only you can decided what to do at the point.

 

[pineapple416]

Thanks for the help and support everyone. I had a friend euthanize her for me recently. He said it was one of the quickest euthanasias he has ever done, so she went painlessly. It really hurts but I think it was the right decision.

 

[Kiki]

Thanks for the help and support everyone. I had a friend euthanize her for me recently. He said it was one of the quickest euthanasias he has ever done, so she went painlessly. It really hurts but I think it was the right decision.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh I am so glad it went easy and she is not suffering. She was a beauty for sure. A lot of my first chickens are starting to fail, and need to be put down. It is never easy for me, but I want them to go as quick as I can. I usually cut the jugular with a very sharp knife. Take care, and hope you can join in on other discussions on BYC. I have learned a lot from others here.

 

[lazy gardener]

Good choice.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi. So sorry for your loss. Yes I cried a few tears while reading this thread.

I think you made the right decision... both in euthanizing and in not trying to do it yourself on a beloved bird for your first attempt. My first time was definitely not a quick smooth experience.

All supporters did nice with caring guidance too.

When she was younger she became almost completely paralyzed for a reason I haven't really figured out to this day. She recovered in a month or so after that and has lived a full life since then.

Maybe Marek's?

I may not have had anything helpful or in time for your gal... She was quite the looker by the way!

But I do want to mention one thing that may be a possibility for you in the future... So I have had a ton of animals. Chickens, ducks, goats, dogs... Anyways, no way can I afford to take them all in. Many of us here (at BYC) do our very best to help our animals and have a pretty good go at it with all of the combined member's experiences. So I mean ZERO judgement at all, and want to share with you one of my ways (okay 2) that I do splurge and why..

In the beginning of the thread you mentioned worming and another poster said the one you had would only treat round worms..

Because roundworms and tape worm are the only ones that will be visible in dropping and even then only under heavy load, and all others stay inside the intestine and only their eggs which are microscopic will pass in the stool... Because worming is hard on the birds, requires withdrawal time for eggs, and won't work unless the correct medication is administered for the correct worm species... I find it MORE beneficial to do a "group sample" fecal float at the vet. Essentially collecting several droppings and including in one sample. It cost me $13-18 to have it ran at the vet, who doesn't have to be avian. Last year I had 82 birds. Not treating for what I don't have and treating if I need to for what I do have with the correct medication, in turn getting healthier more productive birds. In a good size flock, that can add up. So with this method I can get an look at the overall condition of the flock. Even in the same flocks some birds may have worm loads that others don't. I also use the group sample method for each species of animal I keep, if I feel the need to. Once or twice a year would be nice... but meh, we'll see! That's tip 1.

So tip 2.. maybe consider getting your own microscope and learning to run your own fecal samples? I spent $150 on one (I know that's a lot, so again no judgement here)... but 10 floats at the vet and it's covered for me. When I do finally get past my anxiety and try to run my own test.. I will also have the same sample ran at the vet to make sure my skills are in agreement with their experienced assessment. I'm still learning how to use the microscope.

Anyways, it's great that you had a friend who was willing and able to help out in your time of need! Best wishes for you and all your lovely animals.

 

[pineapple416]

Oh I am so glad it went easy and she is not suffering. She was a beauty for sure. A lot of my first chickens are starting to fail, and need to be put down. It is never easy for me, but I want them to go as quick as I can. I usually cut the jugular with a very sharp knife. Take care, and hope you can join in on other discussions on BYC. I have learned a lot from others here.

Thank you