End of Life Decision for your Chicken

It’s hard to write this post but a few weeks ago Hazel crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. After two weeks of trying to “nurse” her back to health, we had to make a difficult end of life decision for our chicken. My heart is so heavy. It’s difficult to lose a pet whether furry or feathered and we consider our chickens as pets.

Hazel’s illness came on suddenly. She had been broody for a little over a month. We were taking her out of the nest box several times a day. She’d eat quickly and run right back. 

We had discussed getting chicks which snaps her out of her broodiness. This always poses a problem because we are at our limit for chickens and we have to rehome them. We even considered meat birds and I’d spoken with a lady about processing them. But before we could do either of these, Hazel’s condition changed. 

I took her out to clean the coop and put her with the other birds near our bushes. An hour later, she was standing in the same spot. I knew something was wrong. 

I brought her inside and set up the sickbay in our bathroom. She wouldn’t eat. I dipped her beak in water and she took a few sips. When hens are broody, especially towards the end, they go in a trance. We decided to let her rest and wait until the next morning, thinking she’d be more alert then. I made scrambled eggs and she ate so I was hopeful. The next few days were up and down. Sometimes she would eat. Sometimes she wouldn’t. She always drank water.

Then she was unsteady and off-balance. The feathers on her ears were hard. I contributed it to dehydration. We started using a syringe to make sure she was getting fluid. We also mixed her food with water and Nutri-Drench. 

The Bearded Rooster then discovered she had an ear infection. This could explain why she was off balance. There was a ton of junk in her ears. We picked it out with tweezers then applied drops of hydrogen peroxide in her ears. It bubbled up and we cleaned a little more out. We repeated the next day and they were clear. 

Her condition didn’t improve. We were now force-feeding her. I’d open her beak and the Bearded Rooster or my little Chicky would put the food in her mouth. She’d lost a lot of weight by being broody so we couldn’t afford for her to lose any more.

She was alert, pooping regularly and her color was good. We discussed going to the vet but she seemed to be okay. I called the feed store and they were getting chicks in two days. I talked to a friend and she could take the babies in a few months. 

Then, another change. Her neck started twisting and she was looking up at the ceiling, classic symptoms of wryneck. It could be caused by the ear infection or a vitamin deficiency.  Hazel had both. Wryneck is more common in baby chicks. We upped the Nutri-Drench and I cut open a Vitamin E tablet and mixed in with her food.  Many people said their chickens were completely better the next day. After two days of this, no improvement. She may have been even worse. 

That night I prayed. I prayed for strength, I prayed for clarity, I prayed for guidance. The next morning I went to check on Hazel. She was sitting in the cage, head upside down (unable to straighten it) and it was bobbing. She was fretful. I straightened her up. 

Our normal routine has been to let the other girls out, drink a cup of coffee and mix up Hazel’s food, and feed her. Herb confirmed that she wasn’t any better. After everything we tried, she’ was not any better. We both decided she would probably never be able to eat on her own. 

So, we had to make the decision no one ever wants to make! We had to help her cross over. If you don’t have a plan for this, you need to start thinking about what you would do. 

There are several options: cervical dislocation or snapping the neck, cutting off the head, or overdose. We couldn’t do any of these. Neither of us could stand for Hazel to suffer or us to be the cause of it. We decided on carbon monoxide poisoning. The bird gets sleepy and simply falls asleep. Supposedly, very humane. 

I see so many posts where people go in their chicken coop and find their bird, who’d lived a long life, dead on the coop floor. My assumption was this is what would happen with our birds also.  I couldn’t believe we were about to do this. 

As Herb got everything ready, I took Hazel outside and we sat for hours enjoying the sun. It was a gorgeous day. I put her in the grass and the other girls all came over to see her. She tried to make clucking noises back at them. Herb didn’t rush me. He let me hold her as long as I wanted. 

Hazel was our oldest chicken but we have no idea how old she actually was. Three years ago, we’d lost a chicken to a hawk and decided we needed another one. She was supposed to be around a year old, but with chickens, one they reach laying age, it’s hard to tell. We always suspected she was much older. 

I just feel horrible about all of this. I love her so much! She was a special chicken-so sweet, loving, and a good Momma. Plus, she provided nourishment for our family. 

I really think all this was due to complications of her being broody for too long but who knows. There are so many what-ifs and should-ofs.

I’ve heard the saying Farm Life is Hard Life and this is so true! This was one of the hardest things we’ve had to do. When Sugar goes for her check-up next month, I plan on talking to the vet about euthanasia in the future. Many vets, even though they don’t care for chickens, will euthanize them.

Hazel taught us so much about chicken keeping. She is the subject of many of our blog posts and the co-star of my children’s book. I had no idea we would have to say goodbye so soon!

Rest in peace, my sweet girl. We were truly blessed to have you in our life even if it was for such a short time.