Chicken acting strange

I just culled her this evening. She was very thin and seemed weak. Her crop was very hard. After the deed, I checked it out. The only foreign matter I could see was what looked like some fine strands of hair or something. There wasn't a lot of it though. Her crop was packed full of feed and bits of cracked corn...and it stunk to high heaven.

Dew's not cut out for that type of thing. That's why she has me around ;) I don't enjoy culling a laying hen in the prime of her life, but what must be done, must be done.
 
dewdropsinwv said:
When MontyJ got home from work he culled my sick hen. Ginger was her name. He said she had an impacted crop. I'd rather he put her down than to let her suffer any longer....she probably would have died in a day or so anyway, but why let her live like that. I just feel bad that she suffered as long as she did.
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I'm glad he put her out of her misery. I'm also sorry that you lost a hen...that's never a good way to lose one. :hugs
 
Very sad. I am sorry, Dew! :hugs

Poor chickens don't have very good luck on this earth. I try to doctor them if I can, but sometimes it just comes down to culling. I know that's hard when you've named them and they were more of a pet. It is a good idea though to "autopsy" and try to find out what happened if you can in case the others need some intervention. It is possible for their crop to get impacted. That sounds probable from what you saw, Monty.
 
dewdropsinwv said:
When MontyJ got home from work he culled my sick hen. Ginger was her name. He said she had an impacted crop. I'd rather he put her down than to let her suffer any longer....she probably would have died in a day or so anyway, but why let her live like that. I just feel bad that she suffered as long as she did.
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I am truly sorry. My chickens (hens) don't get named, and they are my livestock. Still, I feel badly every time one gets sick and dies, though it is rare. **hugs and prayers sent**
 
The ones that get to keep their heads....sometimes get names. We had to "demote" a rooster the other day. He just wasn't contributing to the flock...and I have a new rooster to put in his place for breeding. So he had to go. It was still hard, but we made it as calm and least traumatic as possible.
 
Every chicken in my regular flock gets named, even though each and every one of them are destined to die and be consumed one day in the future. I like my food to have a name and an identity...I like them to have a good story from the beginning to the end. When I had larger flocks I just couldn't name them all but those that distinguished themselves among the many got named accordingly. Roosters always got names because they were so few compared to the hens.

I guess I never fully understood how the mere naming of a creature made it any different than the lives of those animals without names. They all get cared for in the same manner be they named or not, nor do I decide to form an attachment to a name or the lack of a name. I'm pretty much attached to all of my animals to some degree, so I don't allow that to become a factor in my decision making in regards to flock welfare.
 
Well I named most of the flock, But MontyJ named the red sexlinks. They are the only red's I have. I have 3 black opstorlorps and they are noisy, dont have names because I cant tell them apart....they are just "black birds" lol I am sad that she had to be culled, but I did not sit and cry over it. She was here for a purpose, and very well taken care of. That's what matters in the end to me..... I will not bring an animal home and neglect it just because it's live stock or what ever. I do have a few that I'm attatched to and will be sad when they have to be culled too. I'm just glad she isnt suffering now.
 
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