chickens as pets seems to equal heartbreak for me

[michelleh2294]

i have lost 4 hens in the past 4 months, 3 were killed by predators they were 3 yrs old, then i just lost one of my 5 months old to a prolapse, even had a vet fix her prolapse and she died on the way home...which makes me feel horrible for putting her thru all that, then she dies anyways....i love my chickens they have turnd in to great pets and we did enjoy the eggs too....but lately i feel like maybe im not supposed to have chickens, something keeps happening to them...the irst 3 lived to be 3yrs old and were happy and healthy, then i got 3 more and now only have 2 of them...has anyone else felt like this,,,,its just so heartbreaking when something happens to them

 

[SueT]

That's hard.
Well, are they free range, are they locked in at night? You may have to beef up security, like it or not. Are the remaining pullets laying? Hopefully no more prolapses and you've got a new start. Tell us what breed(s) they are and what your set-up is like. This can still work, I wish you luck....

 

[Birdinhand]

sorry if I sound like a broken record, but hardware cloth and a very secure coop build from the get go is the way to avoid heartbreak. the stuff they call chicken wire might as well be called chicken killer wire, go with the 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth, that is what should be called chicken wire, it keeps out everything that matters. don't take the hard lessons personally, just learn from them!