Gonna have to put a chicken down

[EddieWalker]

As of right now, I have over 80 chickens. Some of them are more special then others with their personalities. But whenever one of them gets hurt, they are brought into the house and nursed back to health. Horses stepping on them seems to be our most common problem. Happens about twice a year. Isolation and rest for a few weeks and they always seem to get better. I've never heard of a chicken being egg bound, and will read up on it to make sure it doesn't happen to ours. Hopefully free ranging them allows them to get more minerals then keeping them in the coop.

Have you considered bringing her to the vet? My local vet charges my $30 for most of my visits with my dogs. I've never taken a chicken there, but I'm sure they would help. We feel it's cheap enough to go whenever we feel their might be an issue, or if they dogs are just a little off. After almost losing one to tick paralysis, we no longer take any chances. I also have a horse and pig vet that comes to the house. His Suburban is a rolling hospital with everything needed to handle any problems. His visits are $100 after looking at the animal in question, will check out all the others. He also gives out free advice to my wife who is a RN over the phone.

 

[sixdogs]

Don't feel bad; I put spiders outside. On the chicken, try the calcium.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Me too! And I stop to get snakes off the road. I get the shivers just watching them (and spiders) move. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you have to kill it!

 

[rgr33]

Never heard of egg bound before. Have had chickens on and off through the years, but never had many problems other than coyotes and the odd neighbors dog getting to them.

So glad to see that others here have a reluctance to kill animals if they don't have to. Years ago, I bought a scrawny small Hereford calf at a livestock auction because my six year old daughter fell in love with it. Paid next to nothing for it, other bidders, recognizing the situation, let me off easy. At the time, I was raising Charloise, and was looking for more. Long story short, that scrawny little cow threw out so many twins, I lost count of how many. My daughter took special care of the old cow until the day she died. She was the only cow we ever named, the Charlois had numbers, not names.
We didn't send her to the rendering plant, she was buried on the farm. If I mentioned her to my daughter today, there would be tears. No one remember cow #211.
As others have said, something about getting older seems to have changed my view of life and the way I Live it now.

 

[Shaneard]

My heartfelt thoughts are with your chicken. I don't understand how anyone could ever eat their own livestock, never mind enjoying it.

Everything you eat was alive at some point and belonged to somebody no matter if it's a fruit, vegetable, plant or meat. It's the cycle of life. I've ate goats, cows and chickens we've raised and never thought twice about it. I did thank God for it though.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I know! I am a total hypocrite! And I hate it.

Little humans do, and much less they believe stands up to any scrutiny.

 

[General Lee]

Thank you all for the replies and advice. I culled her today. I gave her a few more days for improvement since starting this thread and it never came. She stopped going back in the coop at night (they free range most days). I think she just didn't have the strength to get back there. So we picked her up and placed her in there. Today she was in the run laying in the rain while the others were under the coop staying dry. I brought her inside and let her relax in warm water as I read sometimes that sometimes helps them relax enough to pass the egg. Didn't work.

I'm not 100% she was egg bound but she displayed the symptoms. There is also a condition called egg periodontis (s) where yolks keep forming and bind up inside. It is also a killer. While she relaxed in the water I thanked her for the eggs she provided and the joy she brought us. When I placed her outside she wouldn't even eat treats. That's when I decided it was time. Couldn't let her go on like that. I won't eat these chickens and definitely not one with an obvious unknown sickness. Down to 3 out of 5 now. Had them for about 4 years now. 2 Australorps and a Rhode Island Red left.

 

[nybirdman]

When I was a youngster;we used to raise 100-300 meat chickens a year;I still have a hard time eating chicken after butchering so many.I raise about a 1,000 pheasant a year;always loosing birds;it's just part of having livestock, at some point they are going to be dead-stock.

 

[General Lee]

When I was a youngster;we used to raise 100-300 meat chickens a year;I still have a hard time eating chicken after butchering so many.I raise about a 1,000 pheasant a year;always loosing birds;it's just part of having livestock, at some point they are going to be dead-stock.

I agree with you. We started with 5 chickens just to see how it goes and if we enjoyed having them. With only having a handful you tend to bond in a way you wouldn't with hundreds of birds. Heck, anytime you walked around the corner and they saw you, they'd run straight to you like they haven't seen you in weeks lol. (probably just for food lol)

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

When we raised Reds when I was a boy, it was for eggs to sell to market. We had around 30-50 at any one time. The only time we'd ever cull one was when they stopped laying eggs, or if one of the roosters wasn't getting the job done anymore. They would be old, and tough as h*ll by then. If one died of natural, or unnatural causes, we'd throw it out and not risk eating it.

It wasn't until I was grown and out of the house (active duty), that I actually started to enjoy eating fried (or any other way prepared) chicken. Wasn't from any type of attachment, or remorse, I just really didn't like tough old leathery chicken, (that and my mother would cook it until it was a charcoal brickette). Hated plucking them too. To this day, I will not pluck a bird. I skin them, pheasant, duck, goose, doesn't matter, I'm never going to pluck a bird again.+

We raised a few cows too. The heifers would get bred and calved for milk production, and the steers would either get sold when weaned, or raised for beef (depending on how many we were sitting on). We normally kept all the beef, but would sell some too to family, neighbor, etc. I don't ever remember taking any beef to market after slaughter.