Heat stroke treatment and results

[genesis1981]

I am in Maryland where we had heat index 105° yesterday. I have a 5 year old saphire gem/easter egger hen who was panting a lot through the day and I offered the usual ice treats iced electrolytes and cold snacks. I was very worried because overnight it was going to remain hot. I came to check on my hens this morning and the gem was sitting and panting with a purple comb tail down. She can’t seem to walk. She laid an egg yesterday and I checked and she doesn’t feel egg bound. I believe she has heat stroke. I got her in a cold bath and she drank tons of electrolytes and water. Now she’s just laying with her eyes closed.
What else can I do for her? Is this the end or might she recover? I have never had a chicken suffer from heat stroke over many years.

 

[The Coop Crew]

I am so sorry. I would offer her a sugar/water solution maybe to try and give her a boost. I’ll attach a screenshot of a recipe I found on here.

 

[The Coop Crew]

I am so sorry. I would offer her a sugar/water solution maybe to try and give her a boost. I’ll attach a screenshot of a recipe I found on here.

Obviously you wouldn’t need to force it into the crop if she will willingly drink it

 

[genesis1981]

She drank a ton of electrolyte water and plain water and her crop is now quite full. Now she just appears to be asleep. Can chickens recover from this when it’s this bad? Do you know?

 

[coach723]

It very much depends on what her internal temperature got up to, for how long. In true heat stroke death usually happens fairly rapidly unless action is taken very quickly. Once their body temperature gets too high, it spirals out of control and organ damage follows. I have lost birds to heat stroke, I have saved a couple. Getting them cool is the first thing, rather than cold water it should just be cool, too cold can throw them into shock. In hot weather I keep a full bucket under a shade tree, that is my emergency dunk if needed. You can also use a garden hose in a pinch. Then I keep them inside and work on hydration. And you wait. Time will tell.
A 5 year old bird is going to have a harder time with heat, as well as any bird that has any underlying health issues. Fat birds don't do well. A bird that has a hidden illness, can be pushed over the edge by heat.
I found a hen last year completely non responsive, and super hot under the wings. I did manage to save her, but it was a very near thing. She took several days to really start to look ok. She was inside for a week, and I very slowly reintroduced her outside in short sessions, to acclimate her to the heat again, starting early in the day before the worst of the heat, and to see how she did. If your hen recovers, she will be more susceptible to a repeat, so go slowly putting her back out.
This is a thread I posted 5 years ago about a hen I lost to heat stroke.
Her internal temperature was 116.8 F, when I opened her up. No idea what the max got to. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/cautionary-heat-story.1312606/

 

[genesis1981]

Thanks for this response as it’s really helpful for her situation. I read your other post. What a sad thing she died so quickly.

Mine was fine last night. I had done a good job cooling them through the afternoon and evening. I asked my husband to check the coop fan to be sure it was on because I was super worried about the heat not subsiding overnight. Well it turns out he misread my text. He checked the RUN fan. Their coop fan was off when I looked after this happened. I am so upset thinking of them in the coop with no air circulation last night. Anyway when I went out this morning it was just her that was panting and unable to stand the others were fine. I immediately had her drink electrolyte water with some ice and got her in cold water. It may have been too cold. I’m worried about that reading what you said. And I said to my friend -I hope I didn’t shock her system with the few ice cubes I threw in there. After the cold bath and drink she seemed happier but still unable to stand. But then she just wanted to sleep. All day she’s just had her eyes closed and cannot stand. Now her crop is ballooning. She’s only pooped a few times. I’m worried her system is just shutting down. I don’t want to cull her if she’s fighting for her life. But I also won’t leave her suffering for days. The crop blowing up is always a bad sign to me.

 

[coach723]

She may have already had something going on, and the heat just made it worse. In my experience, heat stroke is pretty quick. Heat exhaustion or heat stress on the other hand are slower. I would continue to try to get fluids in her, and keep her cool. If she isn't passing anything and the crop is blowing up, she may have slowed or stopped digestion, and that can mean many things, including organ failure. I'm so sorry. Sometimes it's hard to know.

 

[genesis1981]

She may have already had something going on, and the heat just made it worse. In my experience, heat stroke is pretty quick. Heat exhaustion or heat stress on the other hand are slower. I would continue to try to get fluids in her, and keep her cool. If she isn't passing anything and the crop is blowing up, she may have slowed or stopped digestion, and that can mean many things, including organ failure. I'm so sorry. Sometimes it's hard to know.

She may have already had something going on, and the heat just made it worse. In my experience, heat stroke is pretty quick. Heat exhaustion or heat stress on the other hand are slower. I would continue to try to get fluids in her, and keep her cool. If she isn't passing anything and the crop is blowing up, she may have slowed or stopped digestion, and that can mean many things, including organ failure. I'm so sorry. Sometimes it's hard to know.

Exactly. I feel her organs got cooked and are shutting down. I am so torn about whether to help her stop suffering or give her time.
She won’t drink anymore. And will simply not tolerate a syringe. The crop is so blown up. She is inside and cool as is her best pal. All I can do is keep them cool and wait a bit I suppose.

 

[coach723]

I usually try to give them 24 hours at least, to see if they improve. Of course that is case by case depending on what I'm seeing, what has happened, and if I think they are suffering. It's a judgement call that only you can make.

 

[genesis1981]

I usually try to give them 24 hours at least, to see if they improve. Of course that is case by case depending on what I'm seeing, what has happened, and if I think they are suffering. It's a judgement call that only you can make.

That’s what I will do. Thank you so much for giving me some advice. Even when there’s no solution, the support means a lot.