A sad day on my minifarm

lunaticfishboy

Songster
Mar 31, 2022
62
124
101
May 26. 2023.
Content Warning: Explicit description of euthanization, and death.

I don't think I'll ever recover from today. I'm utterly heartbroken and traumatized.

I had quit my job for personal reasons. When I came home, frantically searching for the love and attentions of my chickens, I had found Zuko, my 2 yr old Red Cochin bantam rooster, dead as a doornail. His birthday was a couple weeks ago. I was in shatters. I couldn't stop crying when I found his body. Feathers all over the coop. Half of his face and head was ripped off, leaving the bottom half of his beak and his tongue. I held him close and bawled my eyes out for an hour.

My turkey tom Durky has been abusing him for awhile. Gave him wry neck. Always fought with him. He'd always end up bloodied. Durky would also start abusing my Cornish cross hen, Lucy. He's given her a nasty laceration from trying to mount her. She's healing okay.

Durk also was starting to be violent towards my family. He would push my 3 year old niece down and peck her, and attack my dad. I thought about rehoming him but he's been violent towards other turkeys when I took him over to a friends. I had no other choice. I decided enough was enough. I was gonna put my "beloved" pet down.

After I buried Zuko I loaded my pellet gun and sat with Durky. I cuddled him, caressed and held his face to mine and cried while whispering my goodbyes to him. After he sat down and drifted to sleep I shot him in the head. He got up and started walking around aimlessly like he was confused. I saw the blood dripping from his head. He walked behind the shed and that's where I shot his head again. He dropped and flailed around. I had to hold him down and slit his throat while shushing him and telling him he's gonna be okay, and when I realized he wasn't dying quick enough I snapped his head off his neck. He flailed around vigorously getting his blood all over the back on my shed and on me.

After it was over, I was laying holding him down and I began to sob so loudly. I couldn't stop the tears. I had killed my own baby. Who I loved so much. Durky has never attacked me, in fact he's wanted to protect me.. But some things just weren't meant to be..

My dad came home about 10 minutes later and found a blood-and-tears-covered me cuddling Durky's dead body and he was in shock. I told him what happened, and it was that he was too violent for his own good. I had to put him down. He said "Well, what are you gonna do?". I had to decide between digging a big enough hole or harvesting meat off of him. I chose the latter, and my dad helped me prepare for scalding.

After getting most of the meat off I buried Durk's head, feet and heart with some flowers. Most of him is in the freezer.

I'm in agony. My heart is in pieces and my soul is exhausted. I lost 2 of my baby boys. I don't know if I'll ever recover.

I love you Zuko and Durky. I'll never forget the joy you two brought into my life.

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I am so sorry you had to go through that. You made the right decision but those can be so hard. I admire you for taking the rough road, many people don't, and end up with family members who have gotten injured. I hope the holes in your heart heal soon :hugs
 
There aren't any words I can give you to help you in your grief right now, but I absolutely feel your agony (I'm sobbing with you here).

Just know you did the right thing and it wasn't pretty but that's okay. It's going to be okay.
 
I would feel the same way if I had to kill one of my chickens. They are my best friends! I think you did the right thing though. Was it the turkey that killed the cochen and ripped half his face off?
Durky had killed him. I don't know if he was that strong enough to actually rip his face off. I wanna say it could've been another animal who did that, but my hen Zara was next to where his body was and she was broody so she would've been took too. It tore my heart to shreds when I sat Zuko's body next to her. I swear her facial expression changed.. she started putting straw on his body. They favored eachother and it's so sad to see one go.
 

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