When is the right time to euthanise - need advice!

[georgeg78]

Hi I need some fairly urgent advice or reassurance about when it is a good time to euthanise as I’m second guessing my decision. Two months ago, my rescue hybrid chicken (I’m in the UK) got ascites, she had treatment via dueretics which helped and she went back to her old self, but three weeks ago it returned. At the vets advise we upped the dosage but she’s not got better. She doesn’t eat anything accept occasional worms, sweetcorn and cat food and will just stand in her coop with her eyes shut. However when I take them all outside of the coop she will peck around in the grass for hours. She’s lost a lot of weight though and we have to give her medicine twice a day which is no fun for her. It also makes her very dehydrated. She has constant diarrhoea. I therefore made the difficult decision to have her put to sleep which is for tomorrow, but nOw I am second guessing my decision as I watch her potter around the garden. When do u know it’s the right time? I don’t want her to suffer but she seems content when she can graze. Please help as feel awful if I put her to sleep too soon. Thank you

 

[sourland]

It's the sad decision we have to come to by ourselves. For me it is when I decide that I am keeping the animal alive for ME rather than for the animal. Whatever your decision is, it's the correct one.