daughterofachickenlover
Hatching
- Jul 11, 2019
- 3
- 7
- 6
TLDR: I'm a kid who takes care of chickens because no one else will. I lost 2 in a fox attack and the guilt is killing me.
I know this post is years old and no one will see this but I'm just going through the same emotions and the guilt is eating me up. My father has always loved hens and roosters. I was never a huge fan of them (I lean more towards doggos) but I genuinely love animals, so when dad would be working all day, I'd be caring for the cluckers. Nowadays, my father isn't around, so it's been up to me to care for a rooster and several hens, as well as the rest of my family. The rooster and hens are free to run around in the backyard all day, until 1-2 hours before sunset as my area is full of foxes.
Recently, hours before sunset, in bright, broad daylight, I felt a pit in my stomach as I heard a chorus of faint, panicked chicken screams (I was in the bathroom-- just showered as it was a hot summer day). I basically dropped my towel and dashed outside and there it was, a skinny fox jumping blissfully around the yard. I screamed and charged (stupid move on my part, there's been unprovoked fox attacks in my area lately, but I was desperate) and scared it off and locked the chickens up in their coops for the night. But then I realised 2 were missing. I have smart chickens that can sometimes disappear, but always reappear by sunset, so I locked up and just waited until sunset. My prayers were answered when, at sunset, they came home, but I immediately noticed they were wounded pretty badly, so I immediately cleaned and treated the wounds, made sure they were disinfected, gave them some water and sent them to rest.
The next day, I waited until the sun was high in the sky before I let the chickens out (I was scared the fox would reappear if the sun wasn't glaringly bright) and then went to let the chickens out. I was met with 2 smelling dead chicken bodies. The living chickens were distressed. I burst into tears. It's all my fault really. I should've cleaned their wounds every few hours. I should've checked in through the night and morning. I should've tried harder to find professional help (not common to have chickens in my area). I should've, could've, would've. This is the first time I have been responsible for something so tragic. And, as my mother doesn't deal with animals and my siblings are too young to be confronted by such a sight, I was in my backyard, alone, sobbing and trying not to throw up as I cleaned up. I still need to go out and disinfect the coop. But I can't even see through these tears. I'm literally a kid (despite the age I used to sign up -- sorry moderators). I don't know how to deal with this. Every time I close my eyes I can smell and feel the chickens, the bags I put them in as burials are prohibited by law here, their poor limp bodies. How do I cope? I don't know. Move forward, I guess. God, I feel sick.
I know this post is years old and no one will see this but I'm just going through the same emotions and the guilt is eating me up. My father has always loved hens and roosters. I was never a huge fan of them (I lean more towards doggos) but I genuinely love animals, so when dad would be working all day, I'd be caring for the cluckers. Nowadays, my father isn't around, so it's been up to me to care for a rooster and several hens, as well as the rest of my family. The rooster and hens are free to run around in the backyard all day, until 1-2 hours before sunset as my area is full of foxes.
Recently, hours before sunset, in bright, broad daylight, I felt a pit in my stomach as I heard a chorus of faint, panicked chicken screams (I was in the bathroom-- just showered as it was a hot summer day). I basically dropped my towel and dashed outside and there it was, a skinny fox jumping blissfully around the yard. I screamed and charged (stupid move on my part, there's been unprovoked fox attacks in my area lately, but I was desperate) and scared it off and locked the chickens up in their coops for the night. But then I realised 2 were missing. I have smart chickens that can sometimes disappear, but always reappear by sunset, so I locked up and just waited until sunset. My prayers were answered when, at sunset, they came home, but I immediately noticed they were wounded pretty badly, so I immediately cleaned and treated the wounds, made sure they were disinfected, gave them some water and sent them to rest.
The next day, I waited until the sun was high in the sky before I let the chickens out (I was scared the fox would reappear if the sun wasn't glaringly bright) and then went to let the chickens out. I was met with 2 smelling dead chicken bodies. The living chickens were distressed. I burst into tears. It's all my fault really. I should've cleaned their wounds every few hours. I should've checked in through the night and morning. I should've tried harder to find professional help (not common to have chickens in my area). I should've, could've, would've. This is the first time I have been responsible for something so tragic. And, as my mother doesn't deal with animals and my siblings are too young to be confronted by such a sight, I was in my backyard, alone, sobbing and trying not to throw up as I cleaned up. I still need to go out and disinfect the coop. But I can't even see through these tears. I'm literally a kid (despite the age I used to sign up -- sorry moderators). I don't know how to deal with this. Every time I close my eyes I can smell and feel the chickens, the bags I put them in as burials are prohibited by law here, their poor limp bodies. How do I cope? I don't know. Move forward, I guess. God, I feel sick.
