Second guessing Euthanasia

[Realchickensofcorralitos]

Hello everyone,

I discovered a large mass on my favorite chicken's wing back on November. When i took her into the vet she suspected it to be a cancerous tumor, probably Mareks. My whole flock is vaccinated and she was acting normal so I wasn't so convinced that was the reason. About 10 days ago she started acting different. Not hanging out with the rest of the flock and not grazing like the others ( I let them free range). She would just stand around acting lost and then run looking for the others. A few days ago I took her in for a second opinion and once again they aspirated the mass and said there was evidence of cancer and with her new symptoms and a new heart murmur they suspected tumors in her heart and brain. They said there was no treatment plan they could offer as Mareks is progressive. At this point she is still eating and drinking but she's starting to stand around poofed up and not moving much also, she started labored breathing with her mouth open when stressed. I made the decision to euthanize her as I didnt want her to suffer anymore. I euthanized her yesterday and right before she pooped a tiny poop with what i suspected might be blood ( she had no bloody or diarrhea stools up to this point). I didn't think of it at the time but now the thought that it might've been coccidiosis and I put her down too soon. Maybe its my brain trying to process the situation as I'm grieving my friend.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm very sorry to hear about your hen

Were you going to send the body to your State Lab so you could get more information?
This would be a good idea, a Pathologist will give you a report of their findings and hopefully it will give you peace of mind as well.

 

[casportpony]

I am so sorry for your loss. I think you did the right thing and you should know that coccidiosis does not cause labored or open-mouth breathing.

 

[cate1124]

Hello everyone,

I discovered a large mass on my favorite chicken's wing back on November. When i took her into the vet she suspected it to be a cancerous tumor, probably Mareks. My whole flock is vaccinated and she was acting normal so I wasn't so convinced that was the reason. About 10 days ago she started acting different. Not hanging out with the rest of the flock and not grazing like the others ( I let them free range). She would just stand around acting lost and then run looking for the others. A few days ago I took her in for a second opinion and once again they aspirated the mass and said there was evidence of cancer and with her new symptoms and a new heart murmur they suspected tumors in her heart and brain. They said there was no treatment plan they could offer as Mareks is progressive. At this point she is still eating and drinking but she's starting to stand around poofed up and not moving much also, she started labored breathing with her mouth open when stressed. I made the decision to euthanize her as I didnt want her to suffer anymore. I euthanized her yesterday and right before she pooped a tiny poop with what i suspected might be blood ( she had no bloody or diarrhea stools up to this point). I didn't think of it at the time but now the thought that it might've been coccidiosis and I put her down too soon. Maybe its my brain trying to process the situation as I'm grieving my friend.

Please, dear heart, do not question yourself. You did right by her. I just posted about second-guessing NOT euthanizing an old hen who had a heart murmur that led to heart failure. She died naturally this morning. (I lost another elder to cancer two months ago, via euthanasia.) Second-guessing is to be expected, no matter what one decides at end of life. One hopes to feel at peace. but that's too high a bar; I think, secretly, we hope to hack death itself. We cannot; it is the fate of all embodied creatures. We imperfect humans do the best we can by our animals, and nonetheless lose all that we love. For our chickens, death is a natural part of life; for us, so difficult. Peace in your grieving. Peace.