A reflection on vigilance

[cate1124]

After 20-odd years of flock-keeping, I realize that my most enjoyable days were with my first flock. They were good stock, and I'd read Damerow's basic poultry primers and gave them good basic care. Four lived to be 7, and one to be 8. During those years I treated one serious injury (raptor attack) and one illness (likely mild stroke) with success. I don't think I ever checked a crop, not knowing that was a thing. I handled them all regularly, looked them over for any obvious problems. That was about it.

With my last (current) flock, I feel I have almost learned too much about what can go wrong, and I wonder if anyone else feels the same. Checking a hen's crop in the morning and finding it not emptied, I become vigilant about her, start applying various protocols. Mind you, she is behaving normally, with no apparent signs of distress. But now I am worrying because I have learned that her crop should be empty in the morning, and it is not, and what is about to go terribly wrong that I might prevent or remedy with timely action? Too much of this sort of thing sucks the joy from chicken-keeping, replacing it with a sort of worried watchfulness.

I am not suggesting we be oblivious to our animals, nor that we not try to address problems they are expressing symptomatically. More that one cost of always proactively looking for problems is diminishing our own enjoyment and perhaps exposing our birds to protocols that aren't needed. I now think chickens are a lot more work and a lot more worry than I used to, and that makes me sad. So in my final years of hen-keeping, I hope to retrieve some of the pleasure I initially knew, to become less ever-vigilant and more accepting of inevitable illness and decline, especially among my older girls.

 

[vintage]

Thank you for this. It's a reminder to try to take each day as it comes and not borrow trouble. I have found myself worried about all sorts of things that can go wrong, with the biggest worry being predators. In worrying, I lessened my enjoyment with my flock. I saw a hawk, read about hawk attacks and shortened their supervised free range time. They did not like that and neither did I.

It's hard when you get attached to these little creatures to not be proactive. But worrying doesn't really stop every bad thing that can happen. I suppose that's a lesson in life as a whole.

 

[cate1124]

Thank you for this. It's a reminder to try to take each day as it comes and not borrow trouble. I have found myself worried about all sorts of things that can go wrong, with the biggest worry being predators. In worrying, I lessened my enjoyment with my flock. I saw a hawk, read about hawk attacks and shortened their supervised free range time. They did not like that and neither did I.

It's hard when you get attached to these little creatures to not be proactive. But worrying doesn't really stop every bad thing that can happen. I suppose that's a lesson in life as a whole.

Well put. I appreciate hearing from a kindred spirit. We do get attached and always hope to avoid the pain of loss. To that end, it IS hard not to worry, not to try to get ahead of everything that can go wrong. To avoid having that spoil our enjoyment, it's helpful to adopt some of their perspective, as you say, taking each day and each moment as it comes. Despite our vigilance and worry, things will go wrong; we will experience loss. They are not fretting over it. I wish to be more like them, in that regard.

 

[aart]

and perhaps exposing our birds to protocols that aren't needed.

There's a lot of that around....and it's spreading.

 

[cate1124]

There's a lot of that around....and it's spreading.

Could well be. Iatrogenesis -- harm caused by medical intervention -- is the third leading cause of human death in the United States. I'm guessing there's a veterinary equivalent and, by association, a flock-keeper equivalent. So, by over-vigilance, we may not only worry needlessly, but possibly do harm rather than help.

 

[aart]

Could well be. Iatrogenesis -- harm caused by medical intervention -- is the third leading cause of human death in the United States. I'm guessing there's a veterinary equivalent and, by association, a flock-keeper equivalent. So, by over-vigilance, we may not only worry needlessly, but possibly do harm rather than help.

Absolutely!
Do harm and/or extend suffering.

 

[cate1124]

Indeed. We are not good about accepting death and dying in this culture, whether for ourselves or our animals. One consequence of trying to avoid or forestall the inevitability is that we sometimes make the process more difficult than it would otherwise be.

 

[flumpus]

Yup, huge agree with this. I found myself getting wrapped up in mitigating every possible threat while renovating my coop, and then one day they were out exploring the yard and I just knew this is what was meant for them. I looked at them and thought, 'Birds are supposed to be free.' It doesn't mean I won't take reasonable measures to protect them and fortify their coop, but I've got to accept the inevitability of death that comes with living a full life. They free range now, and they're happier than they've ever been while confined, and I've made peace with the risk.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

I’m so glad you posted this! I needed this. I’ve read so much about what all can go wrong with chickens (and ducks) that I can’t really enjoy this time when everything seems to be going okay. My flock is currently a huge source of anxiety for me and there’s not even anything wrong with them. Thank you, this is a good reminder to take some deep breaths and just enjoy watching them.

 

[cate1124]

Yup, huge agree with this. I found myself getting wrapped up in mitigating every possible threat while renovating my coop, and then one day they were out exploring the yard and I just knew this is what was meant for them. I looked at them and thought, 'Birds are supposed to be free.' It doesn't mean I won't take reasonable measures to protect them and fortify their coop, but I've got to accept the inevitability of death that comes with living a full life. They free range now, and they're happier than they've ever been while confined, and I've made peace with the risk.

Well-spoken. Finding the sweet spot between reasonable precaution and trying to head off every possible threat can be tough when we're attached. From their perspective, quality of life -- rather than quantity -- matters most. I'm glad your hens are enjoying free-ranging, and that you've come to peace with the trade-off made on their behalf!