Posts
We had our first poultry loss this morning. My husband noticed that one of our hens was craning her neck and 'gasping' for breath last night. We raced into the house and started trying to figure out what it could be. She still wanted to roost with the others, moved around like normal but kept opening her mouth wide and arcing her neck.
I raced in the house and spent the rest of the night trying to figure out how to help her. It hasn't been too cold the last week so we left her in the coop where she was certain to have less stress. We got up at 5:00 this morning to check our forum board questions for answers to no avail. Doyle also headed to the chicken house and she was dead on the floor. I think he is going to try a necropsy on her to see if anything obvious was the culprit. We were pretty discouraged. We knew things could go wrong but we had a false sense of security because we have had such good luck with all the chickens we raised this year. I am sad but I also know that on the 'farm' anything can go wrong.
I'm sorry to hear about your chicken! I don't know anything about raising chickens but I'm guessing many farmers probably lose chickens every now and then. I doubt it's anything you have done so don't get discouraged!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear this, Heather.
ReplyDeleteWe lose one of ours every couple of years, too, Heather. One minute everybody's fine, the next minute, somebody's dead. It makes us really sad, but doesn't seem to affect the health of the survivors at all. We don't replace the departed chicken until another one has joined it, though, since the pecking order demands that new chicks have buddies to protect them from the established hens! So hang in there and enjoy the hens you still have! There's almost certainly nothing you all could have done to save the sick chick.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear this Heather but everyone is right - it's probably just something that happens in the course of things.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry too. They do seem to die occasionally, but there are causes. You do the best you can.
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad Heather, I'm sorry!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the chicken but like you said things happen on the farm. Hope you have a good day and figure out what happened to her.
ReplyDeleteThat is really sad Heather, but no animal can live forever. It sounds like you've done your best. One of these days I'm hoping to talk my husband onto getting some of our own chickens.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that... first time here and I like everything I see.... I'll come back for sure... nice meeting you!
ReplyDeletecielo
Sorry to hear about your about your chicken. I hope the rest will be okay.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry hun. We have lost a couple over the years but I am not sure went on with yours. It could have been genetic too.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry, Heather. How upsetting. I'm sure there was nothing you could do--sometimes things just happen.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather,
ReplyDeleteNot a good way to start your day...the way you described her behavior, maybe something caused her to choke. So sad...
I'm sorry to hear you lost one of your chickens. I've just started keeping chickens this month myself and dread the day that I have to face that.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to hear that Heather. I hope you figure out what happened to her.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that you've had chickens for so long without any other losses. Our neighbors, less than a mile away, have tried chickens several times but the neighborhood dogs and wild foxes always manage to get inside and rip them up. Good luck figuring out the problem.
ReplyDeleteSorry that one of the chickens died. Not knowing why would be hard. My friend has three hens and she treats them like her babies. :-)
ReplyDeleteRIP chicken. At least she had the opportunity to have a nice life on a real farm with people looking out for her!
ReplyDeletei a sorry to hear the loss. i am sure rest will go fine.
ReplyDeleteBird care is challenging and it sounds like you two did all you could. I'm sorry for your sad news.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your departed chicken. I grew up on a family farm and I still remember every loss. Memories of my cows Buttercup and Miss Moo and Ralph the pig remain with me in particular. Love the bird house.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
I am so sorry about your loss. I completely understand how hard it is and how helpless you feel when things like that happen. You might check to see if she got something lodged in her throat. chickens like to try eating thing that are a bit too big sometimes. especially if u have mulch in your pen. I so enjoy my chickens and know you have too so hope all is well with the rest.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
It does sound as if she was choking. Do you already know about gape worms? Google chicken gape and read some to see if that sounds like her problem.
ReplyDeleteI hope your hens are OK ... no more losses! Wishing you a Happy New Year! Great Harvests for 2010! Carol
ReplyDelete