Dealing with loss

[thecatumbrella]

I lost my original flock at the end of 2023 due to feather picking. I was very close to my girls, so this absolutely destroyed me and I harbored a lot of guilt. Starting fresh this year, and we lost a chick on day one from shipping stress. I know chicken keeping is a livelihood for some and others just prefer to be more hands off. For me, the attachments I form is an integral part of the experience. I'll see if I have the emotional fortitude to do this long term.

I'm so sorry that you've had such a bad string of luck. I hope it's calmer waters from here on out. It really does take a toll on you.

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

I literally just got home from taking my baby chicks to get their Marek’s vaccine, and found a dead hen in the coop. Marek’s is an evil disease. It was a shy little hen that was always terrified of me, was the runt of the flock, and lost a bunch of feathers over the winter that just never grew back, so I think she might have been sick for a while. Poor little Kay, RIP,

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

I lost my original flock at the end of 2023 due to feather picking. I was very close to my girls, so this absolutely destroyed me and I harbored a lot of guilt. Starting fresh this year, and we lost a chick on day one from shipping stress. I know chicken keeping is a livelihood for some and others just prefer to be more hands off. For me, the attachments I form is an integral part of the experience. I'll see if I have the emotional fortitude to do this long term.

I'm so sorry that you've had such a bad string of luck. I hope it's calmer waters from here on out. It really does take a toll on you.

That’s horrific, I’m so sorry. It’s so, so hard, some days I feel like giving up completely. When I lost all those birds to the mink, I felt like I had failed them. It’s still so hard for me to even look at photos of the birds I lost back then, I don’t know if I’ll ever fully get over it. But I still had chickens that needed me, as well as other pets, and that’s what kept me going. It’s just a shame that the bad memories are the ones that “stick” the most in our heads, rather than the good ones.
I wish you the best of luck with your chicks, the 5 of mine that made it are doing great and the lethargic one seems normal now, eating and drinking on its own. I hope the same goes for you, feel free to share pics! Here’s mine!

 

[ClickityChick123]

Hello, I just want to talk to other chicken keepers about dealing with illness and death in our birds. I tried to hatch a clutch of 11 eggs, but only 5 hatched and one seems weak and lethargic. I’ve been crying all day long. I’m probably just exhausted and sleep-deprived from the hatch, but in general I handle death of my birds so poorly. I’m autistic and have trouble regulating my emotions. I just love my chickens so much, they’re my pets and my babies. Sometimes they (along with my dog) feel like my only friends. So when I lose one, it feels like my heart is being ripped apart. Idk, I just wanted to talk, maybe vent, with likeminded people. People seem really nice here.

I'm so sorry for your loss, I get really emotional when my animals die as well. I have always had such a strong bond with them and it's nice to be able to go out there after a hard day and calm down while you watch them. They're my emotional support animals.

 

[thecatumbrella]

That’s horrific, I’m so sorry. It’s so, so hard, some days I feel like giving up completely. When I lost all those birds to the mink, I felt like I had failed them. It’s still so hard for me to even look at photos of the birds I lost back then, I don’t know if I’ll ever fully get over it. But I still had chickens that needed me, as well as other pets, and that’s what kept me going. It’s just a shame that the bad memories are the ones that “stick” the most in our heads, rather than the good ones.
I wish you the best of luck with your chicks, the 5 of mine that made it are doing great and the lethargic one seems normal now, eating and drinking on its own. I hope the same goes for you, feel free to share pics! Here’s mine!
View attachment 4147470View attachment 4147471View attachment 4147472View attachment 4147473View attachment 4147469

Oh my goodness! They are too precious!

 

[berlyannpotter]

I understand this completely. I have not had death or illness yet. However, I did have to rehome a rooster, and I raised him from a chick. This was really hard for me, and it did cause some emotional turmoil.

 

[Wings for Life]

Im getting out of chicken keeping for this exact reason. I love them way too much and it tears my heart out when I lose them.
I was gifted 7 baby chicks 3 yrs ago, first time with chickens. It was love at first site.
My first loss was to a hawk in fall when they were 1.5 yrs old, cried for months. Last spring I lost 2 to reproduction issues more crying and heartache, then this spring I lost another to reproduction issues and yet again my heart gets ripped out.
Over this course of learning I found out the chickens I got are production reds(RIR) not heritage breed but hybrid.
They lay a ton of eggs, but takes a toll on their system and things go wrong. Mine started laying at 16 weeks and pretty much lay nonstop all thru winter even without additional lighting.
Its really sad what humans do to animals for their benefit

I have 3 left and one of those is a walking miracle...she laid a lash egg at 1 yr old, I pegged her to not last but about a year with her issue. Well shes 3 yrs old now and still hanging on. The vet cannot believe how and why shes still here and how shes dealing with this issue for 2yrs. She has a swollen belly and its been swollen for a really long time, she still gets around and it doesn't seem to bother her, somehow she managed to handle whatever is going on with her. She had xrays and ultrasound and was given 2 weeks to 2 months to live...but she is still here, for who knows how long yet...and the biggest kicker is she was the lowest on the pecking order, got bullied alot and for that reason she spend many days in the house during winter when they were more cooped up.
So I am down to 3, and once I bury the last of my girls, I am selling my gorgeous mansion of a coop and run and calling it quits. My heart cant take all the pain of the loss. I know its life but I am like you and cannot control my emotions....it sucks!

Also I saw where you have a baby monitor, I do too...but be careful as they emit a higher RF and I tested this with my Trifield RF meter. When I placed the monitor in the coop and for months my girls were all naughty and crazy when entering the coop at night, until I figured out the monitor was driving them nuts. So I moved the monitor into the run so the high frequency doesn't bother them but yet I can still hear if anything happens. Since I moved the monitor they been so calm! A bit scary as these are baby monitors!!

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

Im getting out of chicken keeping for this exact reason. I love them way too much and it tears my heart out when I lose them.
I was gifted 7 baby chicks 3 yrs ago, first time with chickens. It was love at first site.
My first loss was to a hawk in fall when they were 1.5 yrs old, cried for months. Last spring I lost 2 to reproduction issues more crying and heartache, then this spring I lost another to reproduction issues and yet again my heart gets ripped out.
Over this course of learning I found out the chickens I got are production reds(RIR) not heritage breed but hybrid.
They lay a ton of eggs, but takes a toll on their system and things go wrong. Mine started laying at 16 weeks and pretty much lay nonstop all thru winter even without additional lighting.
Its really sad what humans do to animals for their benefit

I have 3 left and one of those is a walking miracle...she laid a lash egg at 1 yr old, I pegged her to not last but about a year with her issue. Well shes 3 yrs old now and still hanging on. The vet cannot believe how and why shes still here and how shes dealing with this issue for 2yrs. She has a swollen belly and its been swollen for a really long time, she still gets around and it doesn't seem to bother her, somehow she managed to handle whatever is going on with her. She had xrays and ultrasound and was given 2 weeks to 2 months to live...but she is still here, for who knows how long yet...and the biggest kicker is she was the lowest on the pecking order, got bullied alot and for that reason she spend many days in the house during winter when they were more cooped up.
So I am down to 3, and once I bury the last of my girls, I am selling my gorgeous mansion of a coop and run and calling it quits. My heart cant take all the pain of the loss. I know its life but I am like you and cannot control my emotions....it sucks!

Also I saw where you have a baby monitor, I do too...but be careful as they emit a higher RF and I tested this with my Trifield RF meter. When I placed the monitor in the coop and for months my girls were all naughty and crazy when entering the coop at night, until I figured out the monitor was driving them nuts. So I moved the monitor into the run so the high frequency doesn't bother them but yet I can still hear if anything happens. Since I moved the monitor they been so calm! A bit scary as these are baby monitors!!

I’m so, so sorry for all your losses. I understand your decision completely, and I do admit I have a bit of a stubborn streak which may be the only reason I’m sticking with it, haha. Also, to be practical, it’s a good way for me (as a mentally and physically disabled person who can’t work a regular job) to do something I love - taking care of animals - and make a little money from it. I have a neighbor who helps me with selling eggs and it’s been really helpful for me to have something to focus on and care about so I’m not just in bed all day. At this point I don’t know what I’d do with my life without my birds.


Also I didn’t know that about baby monitors, huh! Mine’s always been in the run, my run is mostly indoors (it’s a converted garage with little outdoor area) so I haven’t had an issue thankfully.

 

[SuperFluffyChickens]

I understand this completely. I have not had death or illness yet. However, I did have to rehome a rooster, and I raised him from a chick. This was really hard for me, and it did cause some emotional turmoil.

I’m sorry you had to go through that, I had to do the same thing and it was so hard. He was such a sweet chick, would fall asleep on my lap and hang out on my shoulder, then when he hit puberty he couldn’t stop biting and attacking me. I know he was just being over-protective of the hens, but I couldn’t stand being scared every time I went into the run. Luckily I found a rooster sanctuary that would take him in (this was before my flock got Marek’s, the sanctuary tested him and he was negative).

 

[berlyannpotter]

I’m sorry you had to go through that, I had to do the same thing and it was so hard. He was such a sweet chick, would fall asleep on my lap and hang out on my shoulder, then when he hit puberty he couldn’t stop biting and attacking me. I know he was just being over-protective of the hens, but I couldn’t stand being scared every time I went into the run. Luckily I found a rooster sanctuary that would take him in (this was before my flock got Marek’s, the sanctuary tested him and he was negative).

What is Marek’s?