I went out to check my girls and gather eggs, we have had two hot days. Yesterday was 103 ( not common here) and then 92f today. I kept a close eye on the girls yesterday but today one was on the nest later than usual. She tried to get up and was panting, she staggered all over then fell over n passed out while panting. I felt her head she was burning up.
I got her out of the coop, she hosed me down with bile green dookie.(a sign the liver is distressed) and i set her in the shade in the grass and ran inside i mixed electrolytes and vitamins i have on hand at all times in the chicken emergency kit i have by the door. I made it extra strong with around a 1/4th tsp of sea salt and a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar. ( it really does wonders for all kinds of people and chicken ailments but has to be used sparingly cause it tastes rly strong.) while my birds have plenty of shade and water this one got heat stroke.
i had started the garden hose low pressure to move out the hot water and get the cool stuff going. I brought a shallow plant drip pan and put in cold water and the salt n electrolyte mix. I put the towel under her on the ground and started hosing her down gently. I made sure to get under her wings,belly,but then would move it as far up her head as i could not getting it in her ears or face. I let the water run over her around 30 minutes. She came too when the water got on her and started trying to drink. if she struggled to get away i used the wet towel to weigh her down.
i checked her comb temp often with my wrist like you would a baby bottle ( wrists are more sensitive to temp than fingers.) once she had cooled down and was more alert i wrapped her in the cool wet towel and had her sit on my lap for around 45 minutes. I checked her comb temp off and on she began to shiver a bit but her comb was still hot. I figured it was her core temp finally coming down. she finally was alert and struggling to get down. I let her down when her comb felt warm but not cold or hot.
i kept near by but allowed her to roam with the flock as she dried off. This reduced her stress and she was drinking often along with the rest of the girls and even looking for bugs! She was a bit weak in the knees but bounced back from near death in two hours. I had read somewhere that said to put them in a tub of cold water ( i know the shock from that would kill a bird) then somewhere said luke warm water.. which doesn't seem to cool them off fast enough...both can cause death. With pouring water over her it happened fast enough to save her and slow enough not to shock her.
in allowing her to stay with the flock ( although i checked her temp with my wrist several more times over several hrs and watched for signs of panting or getting woozy and falling over.)her stress was greatly reduced as she was preened and got on with being with her flock. I will be keeping a close eye on her for the next three or four days to be sure she is eating and drinking enough.
I wanted to share this to maybe help save any other little feathered friends should you find one of your own with heat stroke or heat distress.
I got her out of the coop, she hosed me down with bile green dookie.(a sign the liver is distressed) and i set her in the shade in the grass and ran inside i mixed electrolytes and vitamins i have on hand at all times in the chicken emergency kit i have by the door. I made it extra strong with around a 1/4th tsp of sea salt and a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar. ( it really does wonders for all kinds of people and chicken ailments but has to be used sparingly cause it tastes rly strong.) while my birds have plenty of shade and water this one got heat stroke.
i had started the garden hose low pressure to move out the hot water and get the cool stuff going. I brought a shallow plant drip pan and put in cold water and the salt n electrolyte mix. I put the towel under her on the ground and started hosing her down gently. I made sure to get under her wings,belly,but then would move it as far up her head as i could not getting it in her ears or face. I let the water run over her around 30 minutes. She came too when the water got on her and started trying to drink. if she struggled to get away i used the wet towel to weigh her down.
i checked her comb temp often with my wrist like you would a baby bottle ( wrists are more sensitive to temp than fingers.) once she had cooled down and was more alert i wrapped her in the cool wet towel and had her sit on my lap for around 45 minutes. I checked her comb temp off and on she began to shiver a bit but her comb was still hot. I figured it was her core temp finally coming down. she finally was alert and struggling to get down. I let her down when her comb felt warm but not cold or hot.
i kept near by but allowed her to roam with the flock as she dried off. This reduced her stress and she was drinking often along with the rest of the girls and even looking for bugs! She was a bit weak in the knees but bounced back from near death in two hours. I had read somewhere that said to put them in a tub of cold water ( i know the shock from that would kill a bird) then somewhere said luke warm water.. which doesn't seem to cool them off fast enough...both can cause death. With pouring water over her it happened fast enough to save her and slow enough not to shock her.
in allowing her to stay with the flock ( although i checked her temp with my wrist several more times over several hrs and watched for signs of panting or getting woozy and falling over.)her stress was greatly reduced as she was preened and got on with being with her flock. I will be keeping a close eye on her for the next three or four days to be sure she is eating and drinking enough.
I wanted to share this to maybe help save any other little feathered friends should you find one of your own with heat stroke or heat distress.
