Had to put my sweetest hen down today. ((
She was a rescue and I've known for a long time that something wasn't right with her, because oftentimes there was a clicking sound when she breathed. The heat was really hard on her this summer and she made distressed noises while she was laying her eggs. Last night she wasn't herself, and this morning she didn't come out of the coop. I brought her in and gave her a good going over. A full, undigested crop, a very pale comb, no energy, a bit of runny poo on her bottom and no appetite were her symptoms. The vet took an x-ray and said that besides her full crop, she had a diminished lung capacity and a lot of calcification deposits in her abdomen. She didn't know what to make of it because she's wasn't familiar with chickens, but said my hen was suffering and it would be kindest to put her down. I opted not to send her out for necropsy for two reasons, 1) I wanted to bring her home and bury her on our property, and 2) the cost of all this came to nearly $400.00. Necropsy would have adding another $80.00. Please don't get on to me for not sending her body off... I feel bad enough as it is.
She was a rescue and I've known for a long time that something wasn't right with her, because oftentimes there was a clicking sound when she breathed. The heat was really hard on her this summer and she made distressed noises while she was laying her eggs. Last night she wasn't herself, and this morning she didn't come out of the coop. I brought her in and gave her a good going over. A full, undigested crop, a very pale comb, no energy, a bit of runny poo on her bottom and no appetite were her symptoms. The vet took an x-ray and said that besides her full crop, she had a diminished lung capacity and a lot of calcification deposits in her abdomen. She didn't know what to make of it because she's wasn't familiar with chickens, but said my hen was suffering and it would be kindest to put her down. I opted not to send her out for necropsy for two reasons, 1) I wanted to bring her home and bury her on our property, and 2) the cost of all this came to nearly $400.00. Necropsy would have adding another $80.00. Please don't get on to me for not sending her body off... I feel bad enough as it is.