I understand that most with knowledge of this subject will not want to reply; for many possible reasons. That's totally fine. But *IF* someone out there has knowledge and is willing to share, I greatly welcome and appreciate it. We love our girls and want to make sure their last day is as good as possible...
I have a store of sodium thiopental acquired for euthanasia when it's sadly needed. Since we started keeping chickens We've lost one (heart attack at a little over two years) and had to euthanize two. I've researched ALL the methods in depth and, based on our values and experience, we've decided sodium thiopental is the way to go. Yes, a vet can do this procedure, obviously. But the only vet is almost two hours away and I want our girls to be able to pass in the comfort of their home and flock; not in some alien medical facility. To say nothing of the sad hassle of driving the body two hours back to the homestead just to bury it.
Our alpha is ailing. She's going to be 7 in three weeks. One of the most amazing beings I've ever known. She is our "Adventure Chicken" who's been across the country twice, seen both oceans, camped in the redwoods, and stalwartly traveled all over the country with us. I took her to the vet on Monday for diagnosis. Her Xray revealed fluid in her lungs and the vet detected a slight arrhythmia. Her fecal float was totally clear. We've had her on doxy since Sunday and her breathing difficulties (which started Saturday night) improved significantly. But her activity level has fallen off a cliff. She's still eating, drinking, and pooping normally; although less due to decreased activity. She has VERY little stamina which is not-at-all like her; she's the feistiest (while still being kind and loving) chicken I've ever met.
The vet suspected possible heart issues. She's had a respiratory infection and year ago and her recovery from that (also on doxy) was remarkable. Not so now... I suspect her heart is beginning to give out. The vet recommended an MRI to diagnose the heart condition, but admitted that would do nothing to change treatment apart from informing a euthanasia plan...
She's holding steady for now, but I suspect that's temporary. An old heart does not improve with time. So I need to get this euthanasia plan sorted ASAP.
I've read all the material I can find on the euthanasia by ST and still have questions.
Q1.) Reconstituting the powder: There's enough powder in one vial to euthanize about five average sized chickens. If I reconstitute the whole vial, I can't imagine that can be stored/useful for long. Is that correct? I'd hate to "waste" 80% of it; but will do that If I have to.
Q2.) Dosage/Solution Concentration: recommended dosage for euthanasia is 60mg/kg body weight. And for euthanasia this can be injected. The mfg says begin "working solution" of 10%. They then give lots of guidelines about diluting the working solution down for anesthesia purposes. But they offer no instruction on euthanasia. If I use the working solution of 10%, then for a 3 kg bird that amounts to 1.8 ml of solution. Does that sound reasonable? I hope so; I do have 3ml syringes...
Q3.) Injection: The instruction for (I assume) euthanasia is to inject it "intraperitoneally" - that is into the abdominal cavity. Ok, fine. How do I do that? Can anyone provide instructions or links to information about how to do that with a chicken?
If you have read all this, thank you kindly. If you have knowledge that can help, I will be eternally grateful. I don't want to fumble my way through this. But I will if I have to. Our two previous euthanasia experiences were... incentive to "do it right." I think this way is the only "right" way for us and our girls.
Thank you for your time. All the best,
-HF
I have a store of sodium thiopental acquired for euthanasia when it's sadly needed. Since we started keeping chickens We've lost one (heart attack at a little over two years) and had to euthanize two. I've researched ALL the methods in depth and, based on our values and experience, we've decided sodium thiopental is the way to go. Yes, a vet can do this procedure, obviously. But the only vet is almost two hours away and I want our girls to be able to pass in the comfort of their home and flock; not in some alien medical facility. To say nothing of the sad hassle of driving the body two hours back to the homestead just to bury it.
Our alpha is ailing. She's going to be 7 in three weeks. One of the most amazing beings I've ever known. She is our "Adventure Chicken" who's been across the country twice, seen both oceans, camped in the redwoods, and stalwartly traveled all over the country with us. I took her to the vet on Monday for diagnosis. Her Xray revealed fluid in her lungs and the vet detected a slight arrhythmia. Her fecal float was totally clear. We've had her on doxy since Sunday and her breathing difficulties (which started Saturday night) improved significantly. But her activity level has fallen off a cliff. She's still eating, drinking, and pooping normally; although less due to decreased activity. She has VERY little stamina which is not-at-all like her; she's the feistiest (while still being kind and loving) chicken I've ever met.
The vet suspected possible heart issues. She's had a respiratory infection and year ago and her recovery from that (also on doxy) was remarkable. Not so now... I suspect her heart is beginning to give out. The vet recommended an MRI to diagnose the heart condition, but admitted that would do nothing to change treatment apart from informing a euthanasia plan...
She's holding steady for now, but I suspect that's temporary. An old heart does not improve with time. So I need to get this euthanasia plan sorted ASAP.
I've read all the material I can find on the euthanasia by ST and still have questions.
Q1.) Reconstituting the powder: There's enough powder in one vial to euthanize about five average sized chickens. If I reconstitute the whole vial, I can't imagine that can be stored/useful for long. Is that correct? I'd hate to "waste" 80% of it; but will do that If I have to.
Q2.) Dosage/Solution Concentration: recommended dosage for euthanasia is 60mg/kg body weight. And for euthanasia this can be injected. The mfg says begin "working solution" of 10%. They then give lots of guidelines about diluting the working solution down for anesthesia purposes. But they offer no instruction on euthanasia. If I use the working solution of 10%, then for a 3 kg bird that amounts to 1.8 ml of solution. Does that sound reasonable? I hope so; I do have 3ml syringes...
Q3.) Injection: The instruction for (I assume) euthanasia is to inject it "intraperitoneally" - that is into the abdominal cavity. Ok, fine. How do I do that? Can anyone provide instructions or links to information about how to do that with a chicken?
If you have read all this, thank you kindly. If you have knowledge that can help, I will be eternally grateful. I don't want to fumble my way through this. But I will if I have to. Our two previous euthanasia experiences were... incentive to "do it right." I think this way is the only "right" way for us and our girls.
Thank you for your time. All the best,
-HF
