very sick chicken

[UbDucks]

I have been holding my sweet chicken Clementine for the last two hours, she is wheezing and very sick, sudden onset just in the last few hours. She has episodes of flailing her body, does this sound like she is dying?

 

[Islander11]

Hi, i'm not great on diseases, but i think she is dying. How old is she? did she eat something? Anything around her to eat that's poison?

 

[blondiebee181]

Runny nose or cough? Can she stand? When did she last eat or drink? What does her poo look like? How old? Is she laying? Certainly keep her isolated....getting her to drink I would say is item one...

 

[UbDucks]

She was completely normal 5 hours ago. She is our special chicken that mostly lives in the house, but I put her out with the rest of the flock for a few hours every day. She was fine when I put her out this afternoon. But we did have a hen who was very sick a few days ago with respiratory illness (she recovered fine with Tylan 50) and one that died a week or so ago, reason unknown.
I have never seen a chicken get so sick, so fast. But I don't think it is poison, they are in an enclosed safe area.
Blondibee, she cannot stand, eat or drink, she is in kind of a semi conscious state but wheezing and gasping.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you give her a dose of the Tylan 50? If she can swallow, you can give it a drop at a time, or inject it into her breast muscle 1/4 inch deep. She has probably caught the respiratory disease the other chicken had. I sure hope that she makes it. I will check back in the morning. Keep her warm tonight.

 

[UbDucks]

Thanks Eggsessive, I did give her an injection of Tylan right away when I brought her inside at 6 pm. I am keeping her warm in a blanket on my lap. I'll let you know.

 

[blondiebee181]

Yeah maybe the respiratory infection...how much time does she spend indoors versus outside?

 

[UbDucks]

She died in the night. She was such a special chicken, the sweetest personality. I have never seen anything come on so fast like this - from absolutely fine, to struggling for breath, to death within 12 hours. The vet said on the phone that it sounded like in addition to something respiratory, that there was "heart involvement". Anyone know what that would mean? I am blaming myself because I put her out with the flock for a few hours yesterday (she lives in the house) and it was cold - but then also I've been doing that all winter and she has been fine. I just wish I had not put her outside yesterday.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. So sorry to hear you lost Clementine.

How old was she?
Heart involvement would mean that they suspected there was a problem with her heart like a congenital defect or even a tumour maybe.....something that caused the heart to fail under pressure from a respiratory problem. The only way you would know for sure would be to have a necropsy done.

Was there a reason that she was "special" and lived in the house rather than outside with the other chickens? I'm wondering if there was an underlying health issue that caused her to be kept as a house chicken in the first place.
It is concerning that you lost another chicken to unknown causes recently and that would make me want to have some tests done to see if there is something that I could change to help protect the rest of the flock. I understand that as a pet you most likely want to bury her but it would be wise to have her body examined to establish the real cause of death. That is certainly something your vet can only guess at over the phone. Some state/veterinary colleges do chicken necropsies for free I believe.

Good luck with the rest of your flock.

Regards

Barbara

 

[UbDucks]

Thanks for your reply, Barbara. I think she was around 4 but could have been a bit older; she was full-grown when we got her.

She was always extremely healthy - she wasn't an inside chicken for health reasons. She actually decided on her own to live with us! We have a flock that free-ranges in our yard, and after a couple of years being a normal chicken, she started coming in and out the dog door into the house, all day long, and then at night, not going back in the henhouse with everyone else. We just ended up making a basket for her in the kitchen and she chose to live inside! (She still had access to the flock in the day and would spend some time with them each day).

She had so much personality. Would come running to the sound of my daughter's voice, would "cry" if left alone in a room, would hop on a lap to watch tv, loved to snuggle and cuddle. She was mainly attached to my daughter but was affectionate with all people.

My daughter is as attached to her as you would be to a beloved dog. This is going to be so hard for her. (Me too.)

I looked up the State Vet info and I really would like to know the reason, so maybe we will try to have her necropsied. I know I shouldn't dwell on it being my fault, but I feel like if only I hadn't put her outside yesterday... sigh. We have had many chickens die over the years but this one was like a family member. We even took her camping this past summer, lol. Heartbroken.