Sugar chicken laying lash eggs (warning: gross photos)

[coach723]

I'm very, very sorry for your loss.
It's particularly hard when it's a much loved bird and one that you have taken so much care of for a period of time. It hurts.
Over the years I have found that the anticipation of the loss is as bad, or sometimes worse, than the actual happening.
Once they are at rest, there is peace. No more suffering, no more pain, no more discomfort. It's the final kindness you can do for them, out of love. As with all grief, time will bring you less pain and more of the good memories. There is nothing wrong with grieving, and there is no right or wrong way.
I have lost birds that I sobbed over, and now I can remember them with a smile. They are all special in their own way.

 

[hidezchick]

Fly high baby girl

 

[LaFleche]

Fly high baby girl

 

[coach723]

 

[CharlotteB12]

OMG!!! I'm so sorry for your loss! I think you should try to spend more time with your other chickens to get your mind off of her. But you could tell yourself that hey, at least she didn't die a long painful death. You made the right decision to put her to rest. So sorry for you! BYE!

 

[cate1124]

It does appear to be lash material. What antibiotic did the vet give you before?
Salpingitis can be really hard to treat successfully. Those who say they've been successful have started treatment very early. I've treated a fair number of them, all kinds of antibiotics and combinations and have not been successful. They hide the symptoms so well that it's often missed until it's advanced. Antibiotics may buy them some time, it's very hard to know for sure. They often feel better for a time after passing some of the material, but it usually recurs. Even if you don't see it, it can be building up inside. The most common treatment is enrofloxacin (Baytril), but the vet can test to see what antibiotic it might respond best to. There is more information here, it's written by a veterinarian: https://the-chicken-chick.com/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by/
The article says that hormonal implants are not available in the US, which isn't entirely accurate. They are available for a pet bird, which many consider their chickens to be. But it's not inexpensive. It's usually more effective for an internal layer rather than salpingitis, but might buy time. I've never had it done.
I no longer treat it unless I think it's very early. I just leave them with the flock until they are obviously sick, not eating or drinking, isolating themselves, or getting attacked by others, then I euthanize. Some of them pass fairly quickly, some have lived a fair amount of time, I've had them live 18 months. It's very hard to predict. I've got one now that is very advanced, her abdomen is very distended and firm. She can't roost or jump, she has a special pen with a very shallow ramp to get in and out. But despite being slow, she still eats and drinks and takes awkward dust baths, so I've left her be for now. As it progresses the abdomen can become quite bloated and firm, the legs can be pushed apart by the matter inside causing them to waddle. It can put a lot of pressure on internal organs, digestion may slow, they may have dirty butts from not being able to push droppings out as well, and sometimes breathing can be more difficult.

Love that you do what you can to give hens with salpingitis a reasonably comfortable life for as long as possible. You are paying attention to them and doing what you can for each individual.

 

[cate1124]

An update on Sugar:

After 2 long months of antibiotics and hand feeding and trying to fight this illness with her we have made the very difficult decision to have her put to rest. I made an appointment with our vet today.

She has still been laying the lash material every week. Her course of antibiotics has run out and she barely eats or drinks now. She has lost a bit of weight. I have tried and it seems she won’t bounce back from this. I don’t want to prolong her suffering anymore.

I have been taking it pretty hard. This is my first experience losing one of my girls. She was my head hen and my first chicken. She was a wise and gentle leader of my flock. We really had a bond.

I guess my next question is does anyone have tips for coping with grief and loss of your chickens? I especially feel guilt because I’m ending it with euthanasia instead of letting her go naturally. I have seen her have good days here and there so there was this glimmer of hope but I know she’s suffering.

So sorry for your loss. End-of-life decisions are inherently fraught; no matter what you do, you will likely second-guess yourself. I just let an old hen die naturally (heart failure) because she did not seem to be in pain or distress and still wanted to be with the flock as she could. But she had stopped eating some time ago, and was weak and wobbly. So I wonder if I should have instead euthanized earlier. (I was planning to when she died). That's how it goes; we do the best we can and then wonder if we could have done better.

There are many kindred spirits here who can relate to your grief. I hope it will ease in time. Peace to you and your flock.