tallulah Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hi everyone, We've just returned from the vets, and had to leave Cleopatra there to be put down. I don't think she had left the hen house at all yesterday, and I thought she was just broody, so I removed her when I got home from work. When I put her down on the floor she was having trouble walking, but I thought hey, she's probably just cramped from sitting on the nest all day. Today (day off) I removed her early in the day and put her in the pen and she was walking with very exaggerated steps, was walking into things and when she was trying to eat or drink she was way off target. I suspected double-vision and her breathing seemed quite laboured too. We had been letting the girls out on an evening to rummage in the garden so I thought maybe she had eaten something bad and was bad with that. Hence the trip to the vets. On examination he commented on her rear end and underside. She has been bald there for approx 9 months, all her own work I might add. It was something I was going to ask him about anyway, as we had tried the violet, and I had even managed to keep a waistcoat on her for 4 days to try and discourage the pulling and to give the feathers a chance of growing back. We had assumed that she had started it out of boredom perhaps, and it had become a habit. Well, and this is really the reason for the message, it seems the feather pulling was a sign that she was feeling irritated in this area; he x-rayed her and she had a huge mass that had left little room for much else. He says that she wouldn't have been in any pain until she started showing the recent signs which would have been causing great discomfort rather than pain. Needless to say I feel incredibly guilty that I hadn't acted sooner. That said, she has been a happy, active hen up to now, who has still (incredibly) been laying OK, and who was always first to her food. So, without wanting to scaremonger, I just really wanted to share this to say that if you have a chicken that is intent on pulling her own feathers, there may well be a reason behind it, especially if it is targeted at a specific area. Don't be a numpty like me - get it checked out, because at least then you'll know you have done your best by your hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I'm so sorry to hear about that R.I.P. Cleopatra. Thank you for the warning Hopefully a few girls can be saved because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I'm sorry you lost her Don't feel bad you couldn't do anything when they get a tumour like that, even if you had known earlier you would probably let her carry on while she was not in distress. I lost my first one to the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
