[Vember]

Keeping everything crossed for Princess

[peggyprice]

I think if you don't see an improvement within a couple of days from the onset then it is unlikely that she will recover.  The vet could find no indication of disease so a cerebral accident is fairly likely  :cry:

That's my instinct as well, Auntie.  She's quiet and warm, sitting in a box next to my desk (lucky we run our own business, might have got strange looks taking a sick chicken to work otherwise :? ), but I don't think she's much longer for this world.  Her head's right down and she's breathing very gently, she's had some food this morning but I don't want to disturb her unnecessarily - we'll make sure she doesn't get dehydrated but she reminds me too much of other creatures I've seen at this point for me to think she'll ever be back out in our garden hunting for worms.  And I've just made myself cry saying that  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:

[babe]

aww peggy, its ok to be upset. everyone here totally understands how you are feeling.

lots of big hugs xxx

[Jellyhead]

Big hugs and all from over here  Its horrid when it goes wrong XXX

[Lost in France]

You said that the vet gave her an antibiotic injection, did he say how long before it should take effect? We've all got everything crossed for you.

I've had hens be poorly for weeks and get better with TLC but watched others slowly go downhill and every day you get more despondant but equally it gets harder to end their lives as you keep imagining that there's an "improvement" because that's what you're sooo wanting to see.

More big hugs on their way,

Judi

[peggyprice]

Spot on there Judi; I've had the same problem with dogs in the past, though thankfully they've always gone relatively quickly when their time has come.  

However - if/when she does finally pop off (she's still as she was earlier in the day) if nothing else she leaves a legacy of a much more experienced and better informed chicken owner!  

Having been up close and personal with her for 48 hours in a way I haven't yet managed with the other 3, I know way more than I did two days ago.

I now know how to do the crop thing, and how to do the Dioralyte-by-syringe thing, and I know how her feathers are arranged, and what her bum looks like, and what her comb feels like, and how to open her beak.   All the things I was reading about on this forum for months before we finally took the plunge now actually make sense!

And I really am very grateful for such a store of wisdom; you guys probably don't realise how many people read the stuff you write about without ever joining in, and just how much we all learn from it  :oops:

PS Just to answer your question, no, the vet didn't give any idea on how long for the a/b to work.  Did say that if she was still with us today they'd prescribe some more, but all my instincts are saying they would be wasted, she's hardly even breathing.  Taking everything together I really do think something's happened in the brain...

[Jellyhead]

Oh Peggy so sorry :cry: sending lots of Reiki and big hugs

[Foxy]

So sorry to hear about poor Princess -they do worm their way into our hearts so quickly dont they?

[peggyprice]

Morning again -

She's still with us - no better, not noticeably worse, just lying very low and breathing quietly.  

So I'm going to try and find a vet within striking distance that actually knows about chickens and get her looked at again.  At best, they might be able to do something miraculous (unlikely I know, but you've gotta have faith as George Michael would say   ), and at worst they might at least be able to tell me what has gone wrong which will be useful for me and maybe for other people too in the future ...

Wish me luck  :thumright:

[Vember]

will be thinking of you & princess today

Good luck

[Jellyhead]

Good luck, she sure is putting up a good fight tho, whatever it is thats wrong with her. Bless her little feathers Hope all goes well.

[peggyprice]

Thanks everyone - just to let you know that Princess has gone to look for worms in the great big field in the sky  :cry:

We had a long conversation with the guy at the Rare Breeds Centre we got her from (had asked him for suggestions for a specialist vet), and in the end we all agreed that there was nothing more to do for her; his opinion was very sure that it must have been some sort of cerebral incident, and as my OH (a former paramedic  :roll: ) pointed out, because it hadn't affected her breathing she could have gone on for days without any improvement but just gradually deteriorating.  So we felt the only good choice was to help her on her way - so we left her at the RB Centre for them to look after her humanely (not being sentimental, but I didn't want to be there to see it).

Ho hum - a tough thing to do - I've never had to make the decision before for any of my animals, and I don't like playing God - and all a bit of a baptism of fire.  Look out for a future post entitled 'things you might need to know in the first two weeks of owning chickens'  

However... let's skip to a new thread .... I'll call it 'And the next day...' - see you there in a mo  :pl:

[Aunt Sally]

Well done peggy.  A very difficult decision to make, but certainly the right on  :!:

You gave her the very best care that anyone could have given