Wry neck, how to know if this is a one-way slide?

[FunClucks]

Well, friends ~ With a very sad heart I return to tell you that our efforts did not succeed. Zizania is dead.

She wasn't dead this morning, she survived the night as I thought she would. She seemed perkier, better. And in the morning her ear seemed a bit less swollen. She was less labored in her eyes and looking around. I took a picture to show you the slight improvement in the ear, maybe, and noted that it was indeed far worse on her left than right side.

I got vit E into her and a whole 250mg of amoxicillan - just as azygous suggested. Bread with a bit of oil to sop it all up. A lot of water with all of that and in the middle of eating some kibble (what I call pellets of her layer feed), she started crazy-flapping her wings, just insane, up and back curling into a ball. I settled her and she did it again. And then she closed her eyes and drifted. There was some very nasty release of fluids from the rear - smelly and watery and green. And when light grey colored yuckiness came from her mouth too I realized she hadn't just drifted off back to sleep. She was really dead. Right in my arms, and I barely knew it for sure.

Is that an avian heart attack? It was 7:18am. She had appeared pretty clear-eyed and bright; I thought perhaps she was going to make it.

And now I am so paranoid about the other two. It was at this point in the trajectory of the other that I noticed Zizania's malaise. And now I'm worried for the other two. They're quiet now. No eggs for ages. And the buff orpington is .... itching her right ear. And her tail is a little low, with a bump. And she sits in a dirt mound and clenches her -- what is it called on a chicken, cloaca?? vent? I guess I need to learn chicken anatomy. She is making groaning noises, not distress, just not super-typical. I've heard these noises from her before, but they are not happy chickens. I could pick her up and inspect the ear. But I won't know what to do when or if I find something off.

As someone said above, it is so awful to not know what to do. Oh the interlaced lives we weave, even between species.

Anyway, thanks to azygous and all the others who have said nice things and contributed thoughtful hints. I understand why when I was growing up and our dog died, my mom said 'no mas'. So sad. ttfn.

I'm so sorry you lost your chicken.

Sounds like a heart attack to me.

Hopefully you'll get some definitive results from the autopsy which will allow you to help your other chickens.

Sending you supportive thoughts.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear she died.

I agree, getting a necropsy will give you the best answers to the cause of her decline.

 

[aliris]

I'm sorry to hear she died.

I agree, getting a necropsy will give you the best answers to the cause of her decline.

Hi all - I agree too. And yet it seems we are not. If there is a next time I will be more alert. We buried her without really thinking about that. We could have probably unearthed her but the round trip to the lab is about 3 hours and... neither of us was up to it. We will learn to be better keepers and more community-aware for the future. Everything about what you-all say is spot-on correct; I agree. And yet, just plain emotionally I guess, we couldn't. Stooopid. And I wanted to let you-all know I am not disregarding your advice. I can see it is wise, good and best-intentioned. We're just not up to speed. And will work to become so in the future.

A third chicken I was worried was ailing too, but now I'm thinking I may just be paranoid. She's a buff orpington and I was worried her earlobes were swollen. And she was lethargic and just moaning. And when I held her she was sort of wheezing a bit. But I think the truth is, she's always moaned (I believe I've complained about that here elsewhere), and I was holding her pretty darned tightly when she was wheezing. I checked her vent (?) for an egg inside and there's nothing there. It's been just two days since she's had an egg and given the disruptions that's not really terrible. She's not scratching her ear now, her eyes are responsive, and I even caught her scratching and pecking and even running just now so... I think at most she's kinda depressed. Like the rest of us here. It's hard to keep perspective, do the right thing, be vigilant and not-paranoid at the same time. **geesh** I do feel like the worst pet owner in the world! But.... I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day. It's been a rough week. Again - just trying to convey I'm not trying to diss y'all.

 

[Tumbleweedlynn]

Hi all - I agree too. And yet it seems we are not. If there is a next time I will be more alert. We buried her without really thinking about that. We could have probably unearthed her but the round trip to the lab is about 3 hours and... neither of us was up to it. We will learn to be better keepers and more community-aware for the future. Everything about what you-all say is spot-on correct; I agree. And yet, just plain emotionally I guess, we couldn't. Stooopid. And I wanted to let you-all know I am not disregarding your advice. I can see it is wise, good and best-intentioned. We're just not up to speed. And will work to become so in the future.

A third chicken I was worried was ailing too, but now I'm thinking I may just be paranoid. She's a buff orpington and I was worried her earlobes were swollen. And she was lethargic and just moaning. And when I held her she was sort of wheezing a bit. But I think the truth is, she's always moaned (I believe I've complained about that here elsewhere), and I was holding her pretty darned tightly when she was wheezing. I checked her vent (?) for an egg inside and there's nothing there. It's been just two days since she's had an egg and given the disruptions that's not really terrible. She's not scratching her ear now, her eyes are responsive, and I even caught her scratching and pecking and even running just now so... I think at most she's kinda depressed. Like the rest of us here. It's hard to keep perspective, do the right thing, be vigilant and not-paranoid at the same time. **geesh** I do feel like the worst pet owner in the world! But.... I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day. It's been a rough week. Again - just trying to convey I'm not trying to diss y'all.

I’m so sorry for your loss. When I lost my first chicken not very long ago, she had her decline and I brought her into my room to monitor her. I held her as she was completely listless, then gently placed her in the dog crate. She laid her head down on the towel, and not even 30 seconds later, her body flew backwards violently, then flew again to the side, very violently. It was so terrifying, it was like out of The Exorcist. I was told it was a her nervous system shutting down.

I think we all have limits to what we can or are willing to do, and it’s a personal choice that isn’t necessarily up for debate. I think that when caring for any living thing, as long as there is care and some level of compassion for suffering, then we are doing the right thing. With time comes knowledge in caring for chickens, and I think we are all lucky to have such a wealth of knowledge here to circle round to. There’s always the “shoulda, coulda, woulda”, but all you can do is move forward. Best wishes

 

[aliris]

I’m so sorry for your loss. When I lost my first chicken not very long ago, she had her decline and I brought her into my room to monitor her. I held her as she was completely listless, then gently placed her in the dog crate. She laid her head down on the towel, and not even 30 seconds later, her body flew backwards violently, then flew again to the side, very violently. It was so terrifying, it was like out of The Exorcist. I was told it was a her nervous system shutting down.

I think we all have limits to what we can or are willing to do, and it’s a personal choice that isn’t necessarily up for debate. I think that when caring for any living thing, as long as there is care and some level of compassion for suffering, then we are doing the right thing. With time comes knowledge in caring for chickens, and I think we are all lucky to have such a wealth of knowledge here to circle round to. There’s always the “shoulda, coulda, woulda”, but all you can do is move forward. Best wishes

You're making me cry; can't see the keyboard! (((Thanks for sharing your feelings.)))

 

[Tumbleweedlynn]

You're making me cry; can't see the keyboard! (((Thanks for sharing your feelings.)))

Hang in there. It can be very overwhelming, especially when you see all the things that can go wrong. And know that you aren’t alone in your concern, fear and frustration in trying to do everything “right”. It’s a lot. My husband said when his family had all the farm animals back in the day, that he remembers losing more sheep than chickens, if you can believe that. He laughs at all the medications and coop and run requirements I have, according to what I’ve read. He says they would throw them some feed in the morning, the chickens would free range all day, and some made it back, and some didn’t. They didn’t have separate broody areas, or sick bays or incubators.

Our chickens are lucky to have us, and we’re lucky to have each other to bounce these things off of.

 

[aliris]

He says they would throw them some feed in the morning, the chickens would free range all day, and some made it back, and some didn’t.

Yeah, that's sort of the way I want to be and sometimes think of things, but it's just a fiction. We're living in a modern world and these farm animals are boutique accessories for our love. So it really hurts terribly for them to go away. I know there are probably more chickens than humans and they come and go every day in mind-boggling numbers. But these ones are part of my home and life.... *sigh*.