Bluebellbird Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Hi there, Has anybody had experience with a chicken with a heart murmur? My Bluebell hen has been very slow the last couple of days, has lost a bit of weight and spends most of the day sitting under the coop. I thought at first it may have been because of the hot weather we've been having, but decided to take her down the vets just incase. He told me that she has a heart murmur:( I have tablets for her and the vet told me there are lots of different medications we can try with her but I just wanted to know if anybody has any previous experience of this situation and if a chicken with a heart murmur can live a happy life? I don't want to be pointlessly pumping her body full of different medications and for her to suffer if in the long run she's not going to be able to live a comfortable life. Any advise will be greatly appreciated, Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 They all have a tendency to have weak hearts and can suddenly die of shock or a heart attack. The decision is yours but if she were mine I'd make sure that she was comfortable and happy and let her get on with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Havent had any chickens diagnosed, but our Dog, Duncan a big heavy Boxer dog has a heart murmur. Its bad enough that they will not give him a general anesthetic. We have never been given anything for it though?? He has to walk on the lead so he doesnt over exert himself, (Does not know he has a heart murmur so tends to get carried away) He does almost seem to fit if he gets over excited and takes a long time to settle down. We keep him cool in the hot weather with regular showers with the hose which he loves. He has a great life, loved and spoilt by everyone, he just has to take it easy. Our chucks have all been very slow and sleepy in the heat, panting a lot and holding their wings out. It will stress them a little as it does us. I suppose I am trying to say that I am not sure long term medication for a chicken is the answer, (But then again I suppose it depends on how serious it is) but nor would I say to PTS as it doesn''t seem to cause distress in any way to our Dunc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebellbird Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Thank you for your replies, I think I just wanted to know she would be going through any unnecessary suffering and because I couldn't find any information online about it I had nothing to compare it too. I think I'm going to see how she's goes, she's on furosemide tablets for 2 weeks then I've got to back to see the specialist to check her progress. I initially thought that it was because of the weather too because she's quite big and dark, but she's been off her food and hasn't budged from under the coop, she did eat some rice earlier so I'm keeping my hopes up, Rosie x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 She's probably not suffering, just feeling lethargic and under the weather. What colour is her comb? That's a diuretic; my FiL is on it for his heart failure. TBH they either carry on in their own way or fail to thrive and die quite soon, all you can do is to make her comfy and let her enjoy the summer. I had a japanese bantam with heart problems and I fully expected her to die each winter we had but she was happy enough and carried on, eventually shuffling off her perch at the age of 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 One of my ex batts developed a heart murmur. She was treated with frusemide and fortekor. In herself, she was quite well, she just had less energy than the other girls. Having said that, she was almost 3 1/2 when we had her pts so elderly for an ex batt - even without the heart murmur. She had three months from diagnosis to us making the decision to pts. Her quality of life during that time was good - which was why we carried on. She kept loosing weight - which our vet advised there was nothing we could do to stop. We kept a good eye on her and monitored her closely. Sadly her little body wore out a lot earlier than her mind did and we called it a day. I am glad that she had the extra time with us though. Good luck with your girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebellbird Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Thank you for all your responses, I took her to a second specialist vet on Friday to get a second opinion and I was given more tablets to help keep things moving as she was off her food, Saturday she was eating a little more but still very weak, unfortunately this morning she was struggling to breath and could hardly open her eyes so I had to make the hard decision to pts x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Very sorry to hear it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 So sorry to hear you news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
