When a chicken seems beyond recovery, do you "end her suffering" or let her die naturally?

[ryneaeiel]

Hi,
I am currently trying to save one of my 10 week old Ameraucauna chicks. He began wheezing. So far I have isolated him fed him, fresh water and bedding. I put oil of oregano in his water plus poultry vitamins. Heg is still eating and drinking.

Unfortunately I'm not much help for respiratory issues since they range so much. It could be anything from him accidentally aspirating food/water to a full-on respiratory infection like pneumonia.

I would take him off bedding and put him on paper towels. Bedding, especially something like bark, can cause further irritation because of dust particles and make his condition worse.

You said he's wheezing, but does he have any other symptoms? Sneezing, coughing, runny eyes/nose?

 

[SusanMc]

I will remove bedding, and no he is not sneezing. The only thing I can figure is that maybe he got a whiff of spray as my husband was loading the sprayer when he snuck out of the coop. Spray is a reality, which is why sometimes I write about my flock locked in. The rest of the flock is still ok. I have a vet tele_visit booked in case it gets worse not better

 

[ryneaeiel]

I will remove bedding, and no he is not sneezing. The only thing I can figure is that maybe he got a whiff of spray as my husband was loading the sprayer when he snuck out of the coop. Spray is a reality, which is why sometimes I write about my flock locked in. The rest of the flock is still ok. I have a vet tele_visit booked in case it gets worse not better

Is he stretching his neck at all? Or coughing/panting?

 

[Goosebaby]

The humane thing to do is to end their suffering as peacefully as possible, but that isn’t always an option sometimes.

I believe in trying everything to save them if there’s a chance, but when they have a terminal condition if they’re still active and comfortable I think it’s the right thing to do to live out as full a life as possible until the time they’re no longer comfortable and happy and then it’s time to help them along to their next journey in the beyond as peacefully as possible.

But like I said, not everything goes as planned, I had a vet decide not to tell me that one of my gander’s Heart was failing. Supposedly they “forgot.” He went about life for a whole spring and summer okay. I felt something was wrong, he would tire more and more easily as the months passed. Finally in fall he began to develop ascites and that’s when the truth came out. He was inseparably bonded with his brother though, it was too late in the year to get goslings to raise and bond with Parsnip before his brother Thor passed, and the only geese I could find for adoption at rescues were ganders, or a goose/gander bonded pair. So Parsnip had no one. All I could do was hope Thor held on long enough for Parsnip to be settled with some new geese or goslings in the spring.
I took care of him and tried to prolong Thor’s life as long as possible for Parnip’s sake but he passed on early November.
If I had known the truth I would have gotten goslings in spring and Parsnip and Thor could have raised them and bonded all summer but I didn’t have that opportunity, so unfortunately Parsnip went several months alone “other than being around me constantly” and traumatized by his brother’s passing.

 

[Weeg]

I always intervene. I can't consult vets for a chicken, which my family considers live stock, but I do everything in my power to help with what I have, and have treated a lot of things myself. We have horses, so a lot of resources for their treatment, as they are very accident prone.

I had a hen would was going out from internal laying. She had refused to eat, and lost half her body weight before I could help her. She was dying, and I knew she would rather have a quick death then waste away slowly. I humanly euthanized her.
I feel that if I know the animal is dying, doing the hard thing and ending the suffering is better then naturally letting them pass.

 

[SusanMc]

Is he stretching his neck at all? Or coughing/panting?

All I can see is him opening his beak quite Wide like he’s trying to get something down. I’m wanting to try some aspirin but not sure what to give to a 10 week old

 

[SusanMc]

Is there an article on humanly ending suffering. I will need to know what to do if my poor cockerel doesn’t come through

 

[ryneaeiel]

Is there an article on humanly ending suffering. I will need to know what to do if my poor cockerel doesn’t come through

His symptoms sound like gapeworm. Unfortunately I'm not sure how to treat it without proper medications, but most of the medications seem to be available online, so maybe you can try there?

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/gapeworms

Press your ear to his breast or use a stethoscope to listen to him breathe. If you hear a bubbling, popping, or rattling sound, then he has a respiratory infection. It's something that gapeworm can cause, but it can also be the cause of his symptoms in itself.

As for euthanasia, I recommend cervical dislocation with the broom method. You can see how it's done here, around the 1:00 mark.

It's an instant death, the flailing you see is just nerves and will stop after a few seconds. It's easier and less messy than decapitation.

Hopefully he will last long enough to attempt treatment. I'm praying for him.

 

[SusanMc]

His symptoms sound like gapeworm. Unfortunately I'm not sure how to treat it without proper medications, but most of the medications seem to be available online, so maybe you can try there?

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/gapeworms

Press your ear to his breast or use a stethoscope to listen to him breathe. If you hear a bubbling, popping, or rattling sound, then he has a respiratory infection. It's something that gapeworm can cause, but it can also be the cause of his symptoms in itself.

As for euthanasia, I recommend cervical dislocation with the broom method. You can see how it's done here, around the 1:00 mark.

It's an instant death, the flailing you see is just nerves and will stop after a few seconds. It's easier and less messy than decapitation.

Hopefully he will last long enough to attempt treatment. I'm praying for him.

Thank you so much for the info ! I have read the article on gape worms, and I found some panacur in the next town. But the vet wants to see the cockerel. AI hope they don’t charge too much, but then at least then I’ll know how to treat next time without the vet.
my little cockerel is still eating and drinking he seems to want out of his cage....

 

[Jenessa_09]

Have you ever given them tums or Epsom salt soaks to try with the egg binding?

Our hen has been egg bound two times that is exactly what we did. Saved her life and now she repays us with lots of eggs.