4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[lharber]

Hi,

I'm a regular on the US site, but am rather envious of all the activity on this one. I'm hoping to get some advice for me and my poor Mildred.

 

In a nutshell, after almost a year of normal laying, Mildred started laying flattened eggs in April. The first diagnosis was egg peritonitis, and the vet did not expect her to live long. After about six weeks, I took her back because I thought the mass in her abdomen seemed smaller, and there got another blow. The vet took another sample and said it was actually a tumor, which hadn't shown previously because it had been surrounded by so much liquid matter. Again, he didn't expect her to survive long.

 

About two weeks ago, she started laying soft-shell or no-shell eggs. Thinking that her poor little body really didn't need the stress of all that activity, I began bringing her indoors early in the evening, to limit her light exposure. In the last couple of days she has begun to molt pretty heavily, and now I have a dilemma. Is it easier on her to go with natural light and develop whatever eggs her poor body can create, and presumably not molt, or to shut off the eggs and force her into molt? They're both very stressful and I just want to do what is best for her.

 

Mildred is still eating pretty well, and until today was foraging alongside the others. I give her a daily anti-inflammatory.

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Linda

[sandyhas3chucks]

my 4 laid all through last winter... so reducing their day wouldn't help.they moulted too.

Sorry no practical advice, poor you, poor her .

good luck, hope someone has help for you.

[lharber]

Thanks for the sympathetic response. My four laid well through the winter, except for Sweet Petey, who was found wandering city streets last summer. Her laying is very sporadic, but that's alright. She may well have dehydrated, and I'm happy to keep all of them as pets, anyway. Mildred has been getting a solid 13 hours of dark and that does seem to have put a stop to her egg production. Though who can be sure what all is happening in that little chicken body of hers.

Linda

[Egluntyne]

A 'forced moult' will really take it out of her, and given that she is already ill, it is possible that she might not withstand it. If she were mine I'd leave her with the other hens so long as she is pain free and having some quality of life. You will know when the time has come to let her go.

 

Welcome to the forum this side of the pond.

[clootie]

I just want to do what is best for her.

 

I'm saddened to read your post, especially so as it's your first on this site and an upsetting topic for you. It must be very difficult but I agree with Egluntine, as long as she is no pain, leave her with the other girls and let her enjoy whatever time she has left. Good luck and best wishes.

[lharber]

Thanks for the wisdom. I thought I probably shouldn't continue the forced molt and am glad for the reinforcement. I started bringing her indoors also because we were having horrendous heat, 40 degrees and over, and I wanted her to sleep comfortably at night, but that has eased a bit lately. She's a great chicken; the smallest of the bunch but large in attitude and definitely in charge out there.

Linda

[The Dogmother]

I'm so sorry to hear this Linda

 

The others have given some excellent advice; all you can do is to ease her days and enjoy her company.

 

I had the same decision a few years back when one of my much loved hens was going downhill, there wasn't anything to be done for her, so I elected to keep her at home, pain free and watch her enjoying her last days rather than despatch her earlier. She died on a lovely sunny day, surrounded by her friends and the garden flowers. Not many humans are afforded that much dignity.

[Christian]

Hello Linda and welcome to the forum As others have said, sorry that your first post is so sad.

 

Quality of life is important, so as long as she is happy and content with her flock, then I would leave her be and let her spend time with her feathery friends.

 

All the best.

[lharber]

Thank you all again for the wisdom and the welcome. I will leave her outside starting tonight, and am giving her some extra protein (roasted mealworms) at least until she stops molting. I do have to keep a close eye on her because her belly is quite red, and though there hasn't been a problem so far, I know it might become a tempting target.

 

I'm sure I'll be back!

Linda

[Plum]

Hello Linda,

I do feel for you and little Mildred. My Sparrow has the same problem, she has a mass in her abdomen and similar laying history to yours.

I thought I was losing her yesterday when she became very unwell and her comb went blue but after laying a total of 5 small soft strange shape eggs she has returned to her chirpy self.

 

Sparrow is like your Mildred little and the gang leader, and this morning she led the mayhem in the garden. Like you I have to enjoy what time she has left.

Hope Mildred gets her feathers soon, at least it's not winter though I don't suppose it gets too cold in Texas.

 

Keep in touch

Plum x

[lharber]

I'm sorry to read about Sparrow. They're such wonderful creatures; it's hard to accept that you can't do much for them in these situations, isn't it?

 

Fortunately, Mildred hasn't lost enough feathers to be bare anywhere. Here, I'd worry more about sunburn than about staying warm. I thought she was going downhill a while back, but then she passed the strangest thing. It's hard to describe, but it was clearly egg material, all sort of mixed up. It was rectangular with the consistency of moderately hard rubber, and it had sharp-ish edges in a couple places. And it smelled bad. She seemed to feel a lot better the next day. That was actually when I decided to try shutting off the egg-making machinery.

Linda

[Egluntyne]

Sounds as if she laid what is known in the UK as a 'lash' (no idea why it is so called ).

 

There is a thread **here** with some info and a few links within it with further discussion to give you some ideas.

 

If it smelled bad, it might have become infected......just a thought.

[Plum]

Your Mildred is a tough old girl. Bless.

[lharber]

Thanks for the lash info, Egluntine. You are clearly the source of all kinds of chicken knowledge over yonder, a.k.a. "that side of the pond." To be honest, I didn't notice the clump being so aromatic at first, but after it sat on a paper towel in my bathroom for a while I guess it ripened. (I was debating whether or not to show it to my husband, but he can be a bit of a wimp so I eventually just discarded it. I should have at least taken a picture.) She has seemed to be okay since, so I've assumed she's as well as can be under the circumstances, but will keep a close watch on her and on what comes out.

 

I think she's happy to rejoin the crowd at night. She got into the Cube a good 20 minutes before anyone else last night, probably not believing her good fortune. She's having a hard time getting out of it, though, and I'm going to modify the ladder for her.

Linda

[sandyhas3chucks]

I am very sure I speak for all of us"over the pond" in saying that we are all thinking of you, & hoping for some good times for you both....

Yes you were right about our Egluntine.

I don't know what we would do without her.

You could try something to get on at the bottom of the ladder, I don't have a cube but I bet lots of ideas will come winging your way soon!

[funky-chicken]

Hi Linda, I am new here and have just read about your precious Mildred, bless her. I'm not all that knowledgeable on chickens yet but wanted to send a loving hug to you both. What I do know is that I've been overwhelmed by the character of these adorable creatures and understand how upsetting it would be to have one who is poorly . Mildred is very lucky in that she is obviously much loved and you are doing everything possible to make her comfortable.

 

Take care, Jan.x

[lharber]

Clearly Egluntine is an expert among experts, but even aside from that, collectively I think you all are well ahead of us when it comes to animal welfare. Of course, I live in the worst part of the country when it comes to enlightened animal care, and that may make me a bit cynical.

 

On the ladder, the bottom isn't really the problem. They can be reluctant to make that first jump, but they do. Mildred agonizes over her exits. She's never gotten comfortable with walking down it and prefers to leap/fly down, but I think she's just not up to that any longer. So she stands in the doorway. The last couple times I've taken the back panel off and lifted her out. I'm fitting a wooden panel over the ladder and covering it with a rubber drawer liner. We'll see how it goes tonight.

 

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and wishes!

Linda

[sandyhas3chucks]

Aw bless...

As you are letting them out ou may as well lift her down, she may be finding it uncomfortable.

As you know she has limitted time...

shame..

[lharber]

Thank you, Eglutine, for planting the seed in my mind of a possible infection. Mildred was going downhill this week, subtly at first, but really notably yesterday. I thought it was the inevitable progression of her disease, but figured we have nothing to lose at this point and got some Baytril. I woke up expecting I would have a hard choice to make, but she is doing a bit better. Eating and foraging some with the others, at least.

 

I don't know how long we'll manage to keep the wolves at bay, but you probably helped me buy her a little more quality time, anyway.

Linda

[Egluntyne]

That is good news. I hope the improvement continues.