My Three Chicks
Crowing
I am so heartbroken. Last night my baby bird Goldie passed. She was almost exactly 1.5 years old. She was a Red Sexlink I got at about 3 months old. She was at the bottom of the pecking order but had a sister buddy Poppy (Dominique) who were raised together from day 1. She was a happy-go-lucky girl and never got down. She always made the sweetest chatty noises as she went about her day pecking and scratching in the yard, and even while sitting in the nest box. She loved to sit on my lap and perch on my shoulder. The 4 girls are my first chickens and this is my first loss. I can't put into words the pain and sadness.
She had been completely fine/normal until she woke up with an impacted crop on Mon morning. I check them everyday so I knew it was not right. She also coincidentally (or not) laid a shell-less egg Sun night. Between Mon and yesterday, her crop went between being impacted in the morning to squishy after some water and very little food. She also started getting white spots all over her face overnight Thurs.
You can see below I posted multiple threads on this forum trying to get some guidance as I continued to work on her crop.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/flap-thing-sticking-out-vent.1556697/#post-26365110
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ur-crop-in-the-morning.1556785/#post-26367229
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/day-1-of-fowl-pox-pic-attached.1557033/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...azole-nitrate-1-lotion-for-sour-crop.1556998/
I took her to see the vet yesterday (Fri) on an emergency basis. They said they could feel some lumps in her small intestine and her crop was full of fluids/water. One of the vets thought she had cancer. They were between doing diagnostic tests on her (xrays, ultra sound, fecal test, blood sample, crop cytology, etc.). She was in the kennel and suddenly had a seizure and died. I was not with her because they had sent me home.
They did a necropsy and determined that she had Egg Yolk Coelomitis/Peritonitis. They found yolk all over her organs and her intestines were stuck in just a big ball/mass. That's why her crop wasn't able to process food through or absorb any nutrition and was so distended. She had a lot of inflammation and the bacteria/sepsis had set in for a while. They think it had been a least a month based on how severe it was. They also found a rotten egg in her system. It's mind blowing because she was completely fine and had no symptoms until Mon. She had even laid a perfect egg on Sun.
The saddest part for me is that I didn't even get to say bye. I had no idea when I dropped her off, that it might be the last time I saw her alive.
I can only take solace in that she appeared to not suffer too long (from the EYP and at the very end). And that she had a short but happy life. Full of love and fun times just being a chicken with not a worry in the world.
Hold your babies tight. Life is so fragile.
She had been completely fine/normal until she woke up with an impacted crop on Mon morning. I check them everyday so I knew it was not right. She also coincidentally (or not) laid a shell-less egg Sun night. Between Mon and yesterday, her crop went between being impacted in the morning to squishy after some water and very little food. She also started getting white spots all over her face overnight Thurs.
You can see below I posted multiple threads on this forum trying to get some guidance as I continued to work on her crop.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/flap-thing-sticking-out-vent.1556697/#post-26365110
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ur-crop-in-the-morning.1556785/#post-26367229
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/day-1-of-fowl-pox-pic-attached.1557033/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...azole-nitrate-1-lotion-for-sour-crop.1556998/
I took her to see the vet yesterday (Fri) on an emergency basis. They said they could feel some lumps in her small intestine and her crop was full of fluids/water. One of the vets thought she had cancer. They were between doing diagnostic tests on her (xrays, ultra sound, fecal test, blood sample, crop cytology, etc.). She was in the kennel and suddenly had a seizure and died. I was not with her because they had sent me home.
They did a necropsy and determined that she had Egg Yolk Coelomitis/Peritonitis. They found yolk all over her organs and her intestines were stuck in just a big ball/mass. That's why her crop wasn't able to process food through or absorb any nutrition and was so distended. She had a lot of inflammation and the bacteria/sepsis had set in for a while. They think it had been a least a month based on how severe it was. They also found a rotten egg in her system. It's mind blowing because she was completely fine and had no symptoms until Mon. She had even laid a perfect egg on Sun.
The saddest part for me is that I didn't even get to say bye. I had no idea when I dropped her off, that it might be the last time I saw her alive.
I can only take solace in that she appeared to not suffer too long (from the EYP and at the very end). And that she had a short but happy life. Full of love and fun times just being a chicken with not a worry in the world.
Hold your babies tight. Life is so fragile.
