Chicken died while I was holding her upside down.....

[kentonsredhen]

One of my chickens had a lot of poop on her and I saw she wasn't looking so well for a few weeks. Her comb was discolored and droppy. I held her upside down by her legs and saw that there were maggots on her vent eating her alive. When I turned her back up, she was dead. Could I have killed her by hanging her upside down. It was only about 30 seconds.....could that have shocked her into death or can chickens not breathe when they are held like that. I usually dust my chickens for mites that way, but now I am worried.

 

[PDurkin]

hmm I have no idea but I am interested in knowing what it could of been so hopefully this post helps bump you up the latter to someone who can help!

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

Quote:
I carry mine a lot of times upside down by the feet. We have done this for years & never killed one.

If she had maggots.......those killed her more than likely. They would have buried under the skin, too. Anytime a comb, wattles or face becomes a different color than usual, check the bird immediately - for any kind of pests, including lice & mites.

 

[CapricornFarm]

People hold chickens upside down all the time, so I am sure that is not what did it. She must have had an infection of some sort for maggots to be crawling on her. They eat dead tissue. Was she injured?

 

[Robin'sBrood]

I'm no vet or chicken expert but I would imagine she was already close to death before you held her upside down. I would blame the maggots and not yourself. Sorry for your loss.

 

[nurse_turtle]

With the presence of the maggots, clearly something was wrong. Perhaps her death coincidentally occurred while you were holding her.

 

[geepy]

Not your fault, Your bird had other problems. Sounds like it was internal. Sorry for the loss.

 

[kentonsredhen]

I should of certainly checked her earlier and take full responsibility for that. I change their bedding frequently and make sure they are free to roam and take dust baths but the waddle (comb) should of made me give a closer look. Just wanted to make sure they can breathe when they are held by their feet upside down.

 

[yinepu]

I had a rooster get hung up in a fence he was trying to clear.. he hung upside down for quite a while before I found him.. when I did his face was deep purple.. almost black.. took him a good three hours to recover before he could walk.. he survived though..

 

[Redcatcher]

If they are really weak, holding them upside down can cause the contents of the crop to spill out into the trachea and they can aspirate it. If that happens, they are generally too far gone anyway. The flies are really bad this year and I am not sure why. Green bottle flies are everywhere and it has little to do with cleanliness. If there is no manure or organic matter around for them to lay eggs on, they will seek out healthy animals to lay eggs on.