First of all, I just want to say I’m sorry you’re struggling.
You’re not crazy, because you cry when one of your chickens dies. We feel what we feel, and your chickens are your pets. I typically shed a few tears as well when I lose a chicken - but I’ve adopted the mindset that I’ve given them...
Water belly - fluid builds up in the abdomen.
We just lost a hen to this back in January. She had reproductive issues that caused it - she was her healthiest when she was off lay.
We’ve had chickens for 4 years now, and I’ve never had one do this until now. She’ll be a year old closer to fall, and seems perfectly healthy - I haven’t noticed any weird behavior with her legs during the day. She is wearing peepers currently due to her picking on this spring’s additions, but...
I’d just try to rehome the cockerels ASAP, and start allowing the two groups to spend supervised time together where the younger ones can still get away from the bigger one(s). See how they do. I think you’ll have an easier time integrating them together as they’re both younger vs integrating...
I don’t think there’s anything you can do to prevent it. If I remember correctly, you’re less likely to find these in store bought eggs because they’re candled to remove eggs with imperfections like meat spots. But really, they’re naturally occuring - it just looks “gross” to us because if you...
I’ve had 2 Barred Rocks and they’ve both been sweet! We lost one this past winter at 4yo…she was one of my favorites! She never liked being held, but she’d always come up to hang out with you, and was always so curious and ate everything like it was her last meal. lol The other BR we still have...
You can also try putting a battery powered light inside the coop (if you don’t have electricity ran) and just turn it on before dusk. They will typically go where the light is, and then you can turn the light off when you close the coop up. I read that advice on here when we first started with...