Transporting Easily Stressed/Overheated Hen to Vet

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Hi all, I'm anxious because I need to take my 2 y/o GLW to the vet tomorrow afternoon. She has double bumblefoot that hasn't responded to my care and recently started laying soft shelled eggs. On top of this, she overheats and gets stressed very easily (panting/wings held out)--I'm talking she gets like this just from picking her up to move her from her run to our hospital coop. She fights a ton and gets worked up, so it's next to impossible to treat her without constant breaks. Hence the nightmare this bumblefoot and soft shelled eggs saga has been. I know she has a fighting chance because of her spunk (and she's still eating/drinking/pooping) but I'm also worried treating her will give her a heart attack.

In any case, a vet is necessary to help her at this point. I'm just worried the stress will kill her. Any tips on this? The vet is 25 minutes away. I might ask they keep her there a few days just so she can calm down and rest before the next upheaval.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I know that darkness calms chickens down. I've never transported a chicken anywhere but sometimes when I carry a flighty chicken I will cover their head in a towel. That tends to work for me some, though I don't have any as fiesty as you describe. Maybe when transporting her you can cover her cage/carrier/whatever with a towel or something. This might worsen the overheating problem though. Maybe keeping her calm will keep her cool?

Maybe you can put her in the carrier with the towel before you transport her and let her sit for a while, perhaps that will allow her time to calm beforehand.

Or, maybe the vet will have something you can give her beforehand to calm her down?

I hope this helps. I'm sorry your bird isn't feeling well. I hope everything gets sorted out!

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

I know that darkness calms chickens down. I've never transported a chicken anywhere but sometimes when I carry a flighty chicken I will cover their head in a towel. That tends to work for me some, though I don't have any as fiesty as you describe. Maybe when transporting her you can cover her cage/carrier/whatever with a towel or something. This might worsen the overheating problem though. Maybe keeping her calm will keep her cool?

Maybe you can put her in the carrier with the towel before you transport her and let her sit for a while, perhaps that will allow her time to calm beforehand.

Or, maybe the vet will have something you can give her beforehand to calm her down?

I hope this helps. I'm sorry your bird isn't feeling well. I hope everything gets sorted out!

Thank you for responding. I thought about partially covering with a towel, pre-air conditioning the car, and also putting some ice packs under the towel on the bottom of her crate. I think part of her issue is that she's running a fever, which exacerbates the overheating/stress.

Thanks again for your ideas about keeping it dark!

 

[theoldchick]

Assuming the vehicle you will be in has air-conditioning, put her in a small plastic dog carrier and cover it with a towel.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Assuming the vehicle you will be in has air-conditioning, put her in a small plastic dog carrier and cover it with a towel.

View attachment 2642750

Yes I'll have the AC cranked up and that's the kind of carrier I have. No matter what shell be panting like crazy with her wings out, I just hope she makes it the 25 minutes. Thank you!