Loss in a flock, and how to prepare.

N F C · Sep 17, 2017

An important topic to address, it's bound to happen sooner or later (unfortunately). I'm not sure how to prepare for losses, other than knowing they will happen.

Hen Pen Jem · Sep 21, 2017

This was an excellent article! You are soooo right, one should prepare for loss if deciding to raise animals. Especially prey animals like poultry. After raising chickens for four years with no losses, I became very confident that I was doing everything right. Then, this year in January everything changed. My #1 rooster, "Bumni" died of "sudden death", after recovering from a respiratory illness. Then 5 months later, my RIR hen "Nutmeg" died at the vet's office when he tried to draw blood. Again, "sudden death", from the shock of being handled by a stranger I guess. And just 5 weeks ago, a bobcat jumped into my backyard and quickly leaped back over with my precious ameruacana hen, Inky. I was dumb founded, complete shock that this animal dared to come into my territory, and during the day, with me home!
Well, they say everything happens for a reason. And so now - I am fully initiated into the world of poultry raising. I realize nothing is 100 percent safe for these birds. Acceptance of loss is something that comes with caring for poultry. It is really hard the first time it happens, if you are raising them as pets. Not so much if they are simply livestock, then it is mostly about investment.
Again, excellent article!
Thank you.

Lamaremybabies · Sep 21, 2017

Hen Pen Jem said:
This was an excellent article! You are soooo right, one should prepare for loss if deciding to raise animals. Especially prey animals like poultry. After raising chickens for four years with no losses, I became very confident that I was doing everything right. Then, this year in January everything changed. My #1 rooster, "Bumni" died of "sudden death", after recovering from a respiratory illness. Then 5 months later, my RIR hen "Nutmeg" died at the vet's office when he tried to draw blood. Again, "sudden death", from the shock of being handled by a stranger I guess. And just 5 weeks ago, a bobcat jumped into my backyard and quickly leaped back over with my precious ameruacana hen, Inky. I was dumb founded, complete shock that this animal dared to come into my territory, and during the day, with me home!
Well, they say everything happens for a reason. And so now - I am fully initiated into the world of poultry raising. I realize nothing is 100 percent safe for these birds. Acceptance of loss is something that comes with caring for poultry. It is really hard the first time it happens, if you are raising them as pets. Not so much if they are simply livestock, then it is mostly about investment.
Again, excellent article!
Thank you.

I was the exact same way when I first started out. I was doing everything "right" and nothing was gonna stop me or my birds... That feeling lasted a little over a year, but sadly a fox came along and I realized neither I or my birds were 100% unstoppable. It's a hard lesson to learn, but one you can't ignore.
So sorry for your losses.

Loss in a flock, and how to prepare.

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