Rest in Peace Cynthia
We had to have Cynthia put to sleep this afternoon. My poor baby was just giving up the fight. Her crop had filled up again, so much so that she’d aspirated some of the fluid into her lungs and air sacs. The danger was not from drowning, but from infections from the bacteria and fungi in her crop. She’d lost so much weight that they could feel her gizzards and they thought that the growth was making her so weak that she couldn’t fight it anymore. Everything pointed to lymphoid leukosis, a retroviral that she was born with but didn’t start to become apparent until she started getting all the sour crop. Two vets agreed that the instances of sour crop were due to another underlying cause.
We had the option to flush out her crop, stuff her full of more antibiotics, have her x-rayed and put under a general and then possibly an operation. But we didn’t want to put her through more suffering when we basically knew that it was her time. She was so tired all the time, she just wanted to sleep but everytime she would drift off she’d have to wake herself up to swallow. She was so tired, so we knew it was time to say goodbye. I cried my eyes out and gave her a little kiss and stroke, she was shutting her eyes and just wanting to go to sleep. So our vet took her away, gave her an anaesthetic before putting her into her last big long sleep. I know it was the best thing to do for her, but I just feel so sad.
Goodbye Cynthia, you were a beautiful little brown hen. I hope you enjoyed your retirement time here, we certainly loved having you. You spent more time out of a cage free ranging then you did in the battery house, and I gave you everything I possible could. I’ll miss you sweetie, you were such a character and will never be forgotten. Hope to see you again some time. Rest in Peace Cynthia xxxx
April 1st, 2008 at 6:58 am
April 1st, 2008 at 7:19 am
Really sorry to hear this, its so hard when we give our hearts to these lovely little creatures that have so much less time than us, just remember you made her life with you the best it could have possibly been, I’m sure she knew that.
April 1st, 2008 at 7:53 am
Oh I’m so sorry - whta a sad day for you. Cynthia had a wonderful life in your garden and was a very lucky hen. Keeping a small flock of hens gets you very involved in their day to day care and the highs and lows too - like an intense distillation of our lives! Have you read Martin Gurdon’s book ‘Hen and the art of Chicken Maintenance’ ? If you haven’t try to get hold of a copy - the last paragraph reads:
“(she) had seen rather more than her allotted 70 days on the planet (and not spent in a shared metal prison), had the chicken equivalent of the sort of medical care lavished on elderly royals, a varied, often exotic diet … She’s enjoyed life and we’ve enjoyed her enjoying it. What more could any of us want?”
Take care
Celia
April 1st, 2008 at 3:11 pm
So sorry for your loss. You gave her lots of TLC, a good home with friends.Best wishes.xxx
April 1st, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I’m so sorry. Damn! She had an awesome second life, and you did a great thing taking her into your home. Take care of yourself. You did good.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:14 pm
So sorry Lucy, you did all you could for her and gave her freedom and love.
Karen xx
April 1st, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Thinking of you Lucy -
what a sad day but you did your best for Cynthia & gave her a great quality of life. I know it’s cold comfort but she couldn’t have enjoyed a better home or more TLC than yours. Jo x
April 6th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Oh dear, you poor thing. She was a lucky bird to have crossed your caring path.