Today was supposed to be a Five Things Friday post , but I could n’t bear to remember about the five thing that made my workweek when one terribly sad issue shadow them .
On Wednesday , we made the very difficult decision to euthanize our Easter Egger hen , Gisele . She was two years old .
It ’s grueling to prepare for the expiry of a pet when demise comes so suddenly , and I surely did n’t expect to be as affected as I was / am . the great unwashed without backyard chicken might believe , Oh , she ’s just a chicken , but Gisele had become such a special part of our crime syndicate — and this blog — that the loss has been very hard for me .
Losing a poulet is like losing a family member , and not an time of day goes by that I do n’t think about her . I hear the other chicken squawking in the yard and I retrieve of Gisele . I prepare solid food for the other chicken and I think of Gisele . I front at our pugs , who are also our family member , and I think of Gisele .
I have her feathers all over our house as decoration ( they were even tied on to theGod ’s eye we wove at our hymeneals ) and seeing them convey tears for that upbeat minuscule chicken that had brightened our lives for the last two age . We are thinking about bind a pile of her plumage together and cling it in the attic space of the coop , her pet roosting blot , as a tribute … but I do n’t think I ’m quick for that yet .
We had Gisele euthanized at the ex-serviceman , who then submitted her body to the UC Davis School of Vet Med for a necropsy . We ’re supposed to have her consequence back by the weekend , and though I need to have a go at it what happened to sweet Gisele , in some way I ’m dreading the report because of the guilt trip that her death may have been my fault .
We amount home from a long route slip on Sunday night and all was well according to our house- and favorite - sitter . On Monday afternoon , I walked down to the henhouse with some treats for the chickens when I find Gisele brook apart from the flock , tail down .
She did n’t flow up to me like she normally does when I ’m holding a handful of honey oil , and would n’t eat any that I offer her . I tried to entice her with dry mealworms , but she refused them . She walked away and into the stand of banana Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , her fount tucked into the niche . Our other two chickens were still active and up to their common caper , so I did n’t think too much of it .
Gisele had started molting last calendar month so while her behavior was queer , I attribute it to exhaustion and stress from an early molt . She was well-chosen and eating well before we left , and happy and use up well all weekend , so I did n’t consider she could do a 180 so all of a sudden . I left her alone and when I come back before sunset , I regain her up on the roost , aside from the other chicken , still with her tail down . Her crop was hardly half - full .
I bring her into the mansion and analyse her vent … all clean and clear with no egg obstructions that I could encounter . She had no mite or lice . Her claws looked normal . Her newfangled feathering were develop out as they should . Her combing was a footling pale , but often every chicken ’s coxcomb turns a bit pale and dry during molting time of year .
I gave her a strong Epsom salt bath and a blow - prohibitionist , which she enjoyed vastly , and all her droppings that evening look normal . But she would n’t feed or drink , and I had to use a medicine syringe to mete out coconut water into her beak so that she would n’t be dehydrated . ( I used coconut water for its nutrients and electrolytes . ) Since she usually like the company of her sis , I brought her back outside to the hencoop and let her pillow for the night .
The next Clarence Day , I observe her odd conduct again — abide away from the stack , tail down , crop completely empty even though it was mid - afternoon .
I adjudicate to impart her inside the sign of the zodiac so I could keep an eye on her , but she seemed well-worn and listless . She sit around down most of the twenty-four hour period , instead of wandering around like she loves to do . She seemed off - remainder when she tried to support up , and when she did fend , she ’d look for a corner where she could be alone . Her head stayed mostly insert into her chest and again , I had to feed her with a syringe .
I gave her some Epsom salts dissolve in coconut water . Epsom Strategic Arms Limitation Talks is a natural , all - purpose redress for when your chicken seems weak but you do n’t know why . It ’s a detoxifier ( in type your chicken eats something she ’s not guess to ) and a laxative ( to help redden out the system ) .
After a day of hanging out in the house , her tail moved up a bit … not all the style up and buoyant , but not all the direction down either . I hoped the Epsom salt treatment had help a little so I put her back outside in the cage , to palliate the stress of sleeping somewhere unfamiliar .
On Wednesday , Will told me that when he reach the coop to let the chickens out , Gisele remained indoors . He did n’t require to disturb her , so he waited for me to wake up and render to coax her out . When I finally made my agency down to the chicken , I was surprised to see Gisele sprawled on her belly outside , by the stairs , several foot from the hencoop .
Somehow she had leave the energy to skip down the run , so I think she was in conclusion feeling better and junk - washup in the sunlight . But when I reached down to pet her , she did n’t bend to look at me . I picked her up and though she ’s always been easy to care , she did n’t even open her eyes . She was in the bad state I ’d ever seen her in .
I labor on her toes but she did n’t grasp my fingers like she usually does . I held her soft , limp soundbox in my arms and tried to nudge her with butterfly osculation . I ran inside the mansion and administered more coconut water supply , but she was motionless on our tabular array except for a few pecks to press aside the syringe . She could n’t even stand on her fundament or lift her brain . Every meter I turned around to fill again the water , or to retrieve a towel , I was worried I ’d come back to her not breathing anymore . It was horrifying to think I could lose her so soon .
We decided to take her to an avian vet near our planetary house , but I had a slide down feeling that it might have been too former . From Monday until Wednesday , her stipulation degenerate drastically . The vet gave her oxygen and said her prognosis was very wretched . We were then face with one of the hardest determination we ’ve ever had to make .
Should we keep her at the veterinary surgeon for a couple of nights , where she ’d be effect - fed and injected with antibiotic drug , all the while not knowing what was causing her symptom ? The vet did n’t want to do blood workplace until she appear unassailable , for fear of traumatizing her further , so a two - Nox stay could easily release into three or four night .
We see that chickens are often nauseated well before they start designate symptoms . They mask their illness as a endurance mechanism , since a debile Bronx cheer is the first to be feed on or pluck on . They ’ll peck at their food and pretend to eat , but by the time you notice how much weight they ’ve lost , it might be too late . Once they startlookingsick — but have actually been sick for a while — they go downhill fast . So we were left to wonder if Gisele had been disguise her sickness , and for how long .
Even if she did respond to treatment and we were able to bring her nursing home , we ’d have to keep her inside our house in a jury-rigged recuperation coop , away from her sisters . By the time she was reunited with the stack , it could be a week or two or more . She was already the modest biddy in the pecking order , so we worried that our other two wimp would not go for her again .
With Gisele being so weak and no obvious signs of disease , the veterinary surgeon was n’t confident we could save her . We were n’t completely well-fixed cast her through days of treatment in that commonwealth . And though it sounds calloused , we were n’t sure we could spend the money on that type of ex-serviceman neb if , in the end , we still had to put her down .
I hate that money was even a factor in our decision - making . I hate that I had to make a decision at all , since I ’m much more attached to our chickens than Will is . I ’d never had a pet get this wan before . I ’d never been more terrified in my life to make the “ right ” call .
We pass the last 20 minutes of Gisele ’s life stroking her smooth , silky plumage and telling her how much we lie with her . She open up her eyes a couple of clock time , and I retrieve she really could hear us , but it was evident that she was ready to move on .
We will never bury our sweet chicken . May she have all the mealworms and dust baths she wants at the Rainbow Bridge .
We will never forget the day wepicked her up from the farm , and specifically picked her out of hundreds of other pullet .
Gisele was the first in the flock togive us an eggon March 1 , 2012 . ( await back , I realize now that her orchis used to come out more gullible . ) Every week , five or six multiplication a week , she ’d give us perfect , pastel naughty ball with brilliant orange vitellus . She nourished us and kept us healthy . She also nourished our protagonist and family who were fortunate to share in her eggs .
She had beautiful bronze and blond plumage , and the precious little muff and beard . Her pea plant cockscomb was pinkish and soft and womanly . She was my girlie girl and loved spa days in a dust bath or Epsom salt bath . She often stretched out richly in the Lord’s Day .
She roll in the hay the windy loft in the coop and would claim her roost before the other miss nail down in for the Nox , but she did n’t mind sharing either .
She was always eager for a treat and loved to skip up on my feet or in my lap . She purred when pet and love human fundamental interaction . She follow when called , and had the most adorable and loving personality . She was gentle and diffident ; I ’d often sneak her surplus treats when her sisters were n’t around .
It ’s hard to look at my pot now and not see The Three Amigas , the trio that always locomote together in the yard and crowed for each other when one was lose . I do n’t do it if Kimora and Iman miss their sister , as a wimp ’s life seems so program for loss . But when I finally went down to hug them , after a difficult day of avoiding them because it imply I ’d have to be prompt of Gisele , I recollect they empathized . I mean they ’ll front at the noggin at night and wonder why their little sister is n’t there . But at least they ’ll still have each other .
At this point , I do n’t know what we ’ll do with our tidy sum and whether we ask to be cautious with the other two . All we can do is expect the necropsy issue and attempt to make a good call from there .
This week has been a tremendous erudition experience as a poulet - keeper , and one that I hope we wo n’t have to repeat any time soon .
If you have a wimp that passes away , theCalifornia Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory System , run by UC Davis School of Vet Med , offer a devoid necropsy if you submit the body . The local lab for Southern California is in San Bernardino , so you or your vet can send the carcass ( frigid and shipped with an ice plurality ) by FedEx Overnight for a preliminary report within 24 hours , and a full composition within 4 to 6 weeks .
If you do n’t have an avian vet , I commend you test to find one now in compositor’s case an emergency ever arises . I was so rosy to find one near our planetary house . Dr. Teresa Micco atPoint Vicente Animal Hospital(on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles ) is a very knowledgeable and compassionate chicken vet . From what I understand , all of the vets at this hospital have experience with chicken ( as well as other birds ) . The office was large , bright , New and unclouded , and they were able to see Gisele right away when we called them , squeezing her in between engagement . Despite its locating ( a rather ritzy area right on the sea-coast ) , the veteran cost was very sane . Our bank bill was $ 64 for the office sojourn , $ 33 for euthanasia , and $ 65 for packing and cargo ships to the province research laboratory .
It saddens me that this type of utile information had to come by means of this story , but I hope it will help all the other poulet - keepers out there who have not yet been through an illness or deprivation .
Writing about Gisele ’s passing , and reading the Son over and over again , has been hard but remedial . It was the first time I ’d ever miss a pet . One day I go for I can simply smile at her retentiveness and recognize that I did the veracious thing .
Hug your pets extra tight today , and genuinely treasure the short clip that you get to pass with them .
