Hi, I use this site as a great resource, but rarely post, but was just wondering if anyone else feels like I do.
I started with 3 backyard chickens 9 years ago, then over the years I had as many as 13 due to becoming a bit of a sanctuary for neighbors who needed to rehome. We're down to 7 and I will not get any more. They are pets and I'm nutty about animals in general so their care has often been overwhelming. I think I have an unnatural level of empathy for animals and it's in my DNA to do all that I can (my dad is a retired vet). Despite my best efforts (daily poop scooping in the coop and large grass yard, regular coop/feeder cleaning, organic feed, supplemented water, veterinary care when needed, etc.), it seems like there is always something wrong with at least one of them at any given time. And I know the pain of having contributed to several deaths out of ignorance. Right now, I have one with bumblefoot that after multiple vet visits, antibiotics, daily soakings and dressings, etc. the vet is suggesting surgery to open it up. All of this because the vet didn't get all the infection out the first time. I actually had a vet feel the bulge between her toes and tell me it didn't feel like pus because it was hard. I know that chicken pus is solid. I know what many of you are thinking, but I can't bring myself to open up the bumble myself. My local vet practice sees chickens, but obviously not with great expertise and the vets who will see chickens are leaving left and right because the practice is not well managed. I have another hen that after years of implants to keep her from laying due to internal issues I think is on her way out. And I just took a third hen to a vet practice over an hour away with more exotics expertise for a chronic ear infection that now requires three different meds.
It's a lot financially, but that's not the limiting factor. It's more the time and stress. I have a full-time job with a 4-hour roundtrip commute twice a week and I spend so much time on chicken care. I'm married, but I'm mostly on my own in the chicken care. I rarely go away because I don't have a pet-sitter who understands when something's wrong. Last time I took more than a weekend trip, I came home to a young Silkie on death's doorstep. The afternoon I got home I took her to the vet as an emergency, started treatment for coccidia, but she died two days later.
I don't know how to care less and don't want to, but it's impacting my quality of life. If I could find somebody who I knew would take stellar care of them, I would actually entertain the idea of rehoming the remaining and even continue to financially support their care if needed. I never imagined I'd get to this point, but it's too much sometimes.
Thanks for reading. Can anyone relate?
I started with 3 backyard chickens 9 years ago, then over the years I had as many as 13 due to becoming a bit of a sanctuary for neighbors who needed to rehome. We're down to 7 and I will not get any more. They are pets and I'm nutty about animals in general so their care has often been overwhelming. I think I have an unnatural level of empathy for animals and it's in my DNA to do all that I can (my dad is a retired vet). Despite my best efforts (daily poop scooping in the coop and large grass yard, regular coop/feeder cleaning, organic feed, supplemented water, veterinary care when needed, etc.), it seems like there is always something wrong with at least one of them at any given time. And I know the pain of having contributed to several deaths out of ignorance. Right now, I have one with bumblefoot that after multiple vet visits, antibiotics, daily soakings and dressings, etc. the vet is suggesting surgery to open it up. All of this because the vet didn't get all the infection out the first time. I actually had a vet feel the bulge between her toes and tell me it didn't feel like pus because it was hard. I know that chicken pus is solid. I know what many of you are thinking, but I can't bring myself to open up the bumble myself. My local vet practice sees chickens, but obviously not with great expertise and the vets who will see chickens are leaving left and right because the practice is not well managed. I have another hen that after years of implants to keep her from laying due to internal issues I think is on her way out. And I just took a third hen to a vet practice over an hour away with more exotics expertise for a chronic ear infection that now requires three different meds.
It's a lot financially, but that's not the limiting factor. It's more the time and stress. I have a full-time job with a 4-hour roundtrip commute twice a week and I spend so much time on chicken care. I'm married, but I'm mostly on my own in the chicken care. I rarely go away because I don't have a pet-sitter who understands when something's wrong. Last time I took more than a weekend trip, I came home to a young Silkie on death's doorstep. The afternoon I got home I took her to the vet as an emergency, started treatment for coccidia, but she died two days later.
I don't know how to care less and don't want to, but it's impacting my quality of life. If I could find somebody who I knew would take stellar care of them, I would actually entertain the idea of rehoming the remaining and even continue to financially support their care if needed. I never imagined I'd get to this point, but it's too much sometimes.
Thanks for reading. Can anyone relate?
happens regardless of how well they're cared for.
