Going Away... Need Advice

[fatimastic]

Hello everybody! I'm Fatima from Pakistan. Im going to another country's high school to study for 9 months!
As much as I am excited for my upcoming journey after a month, I'm really afraid for my flock...
I have a flock of 5 hens, 1 roo.
2 pigeons
2 doves.
And I'm their caretaker. They are all my pets.
I'm afraid that while I'm gone, if they were ti get sick, my family wouldnt be able to catch their illness quick because they don't have enough knowledge to know what's a right behavior and what's not.
While I will be in contact with my family, I still wont be able to look at them first handed.
I'm really anxious and afraid because if somethung happens to my babies, they will have no one to rely on.

My flock started with 9 hens. Now we are down to 5 in nearly 2 months. 3 of the hens died from reproductive issues, and 1 had a genetic disorder so we had no choice but the cull her since she kept getting bullied by the others.
I am suspecting 3 of my current, alive hens of reproductive issues...
I know this may sound really cruel, but what if my family were to cull all of them? My floch got respiratory issues when they were young. It got so bad for my roo that he lost one of his eyes due to coryza. In reality, I lost my most favourite hen right in my arms nearly 3 months ago. She had EYP and I suspected her of that months before she died. I regret not letting her go sooner, freeing her of this paik because by the end her abdomen had turned purple from all the pressure.
I went into depression after losing her. And ti make matters worse, my other girl died exactly a week after because she apparently had ovarian cancer. I tried to treat her for 3 days, but her droppings started to have blood, so we culled her.

I might seem selfish, but what if we cull them all while I'm gone? That would surely release them of their pain and likewise, I wouldn't feel hurt after they all go away, one by one.

Also, what should I do to make my family knowledgeable enough to declare whether my pet pigeons and doves are sick or not?

 

[Feathersitter]

Hello everybody! I'm Fatima from Pakistan. Im going to another country's high school to study for 9 months!
As much as I am excited for my upcoming journey after a month, I'm really afraid for my flock...
I have a flock of 5 hens, 1 roo.
2 pigeons
2 doves.
And I'm their caretaker. They are all my pets.
I'm afraid that while I'm gone, if they were ti get sick, my family wouldnt be able to catch their illness quick because they don't have enough knowledge to know what's a right behavior and what's not.
While I will be in contact with my family, I still wont be able to look at them first handed.
I'm really anxious and afraid because if somethung happens to my babies, they will have no one to rely on.

My flock started with 9 hens. Now we are down to 5 in nearly 2 months. 3 of the hens died from reproductive issues, and 1 had a genetic disorder so we had no choice but the cull her since she kept getting bullied by the others.
I am suspecting 3 of my current, alive hens of reproductive issues...
I know this may sound really cruel, but what if my family were to cull all of them? My floch got respiratory issues when they were young. It got so bad for my roo that he lost one of his eyes due to coryza. In reality, I lost my most favourite hen right in my arms nearly 3 months ago. She had EYP and I suspected her of that months before she died. I regret not letting her go sooner, freeing her of this paik because by the end her abdomen had turned purple from all the pressure.
I went into depression after losing her. And ti make matters worse, my other girl died exactly a week after because she apparently had ovarian cancer. I tried to treat her for 3 days, but her droppings started to have blood, so we culled her.

I might seem selfish, but what if we cull them all while I'm gone? That would surely release them of their pain and likewise, I wouldn't feel hurt after they all go away, one by one.

Also, what should I do to make my family knowledgeable enough to declare whether my pet pigeons and doves are sick or not?

I wish I was knowledgeable enough to give you advise but I'm not. I never thought I could love a chicken I have 4 I think I have 3 hens and I Rooster but still don't know after 2.5 months. I love holding the one named Ethel, she or he is so sweet to me. The others just want their food and water and forget about any interactions, lol. But anyway, try not to stress and do your best for them.

 

[fatimastic]

I wish I was knowledgeable enough to give you advise but I'm not. I never thought I could love a chicken I have 4 I think I have 3 hens and I Rooster but still don't know after 2.5 months. I love holding the one named Ethel, she or he is so sweet to me. The others just want their food and water and forget about any interactions, lol. But anyway, try not to stress and do your best for them.

My favorite hen I lost sounds like Ethel. There is always someone in the bunch who loves you for who you are ❤
Making a decision which is for the best intetest of my chickens seems really hard... thank you for replying!

 

[froggyphore]

I'm so sorry you've had so many losses. It seems to me they just have the misfortune of bad genes. I also had a dear hen from my first flock pass away from a reproductive issue. She was really sweet and had a big floppy comb.

Could you teach your family to watch for really obvious easy to spot things, like strange droppings, discoloration, swollen eyes, super bloated abdomen, etc? those things can appear pretty early in an illness so culling them then would still keep them from a lot of pain. Since your pigeons haven't had any issues I wouldn't worry much about them. You might have more luck getting pigeon advice in the "pigeons and doves" forum section, most people in the general forums don't know much about them.

You still have a month before you leave right? I see from your posts the symptoms your other hens are having, I'd say if they don't improve in that time it would probably be best to cull them. I'm sorry you have to make a choice like this, it's so hard and painful. I wish you and your birds good luck and I hope you can still enjoy your time away.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

First I wish to congratulate you on your academic future. It is very exciting that you are soon to be traveling out of country to enhance your education! I wish you all success and joy in your upcoming sdventure.

As to your birds, I cannot really advise you or tell you what to do, I can only suggest. It is unfortunate that they do not sound very healthy. Is your family able to cull them humanely when the time comes? It is good that you do not want them to suffer needlessly. How old are the hens? Will your family care for them after you leave? Feed and water them, clean their coop and so forth? If they are not willing to do all those things, it may be better to cull them right away so they do not suffer. Otherwise you must teach them how to know when the birds become sick so they will know when it is time to cull them.

I wish you all happiness in your new school.

 

[fatimastic]

First I wish to congratulate you on your academic future. It is very exciting that you are soon to be traveling out of country to enhance your education! I wish you all success and joy in your upcoming sdventure.

As to your birds, I cannot really advise you or tell you what to do, I can only suggest. It is unfortunate that they do not sound very healthy. Is your family able to cull them humanely when the time comes? It is good that you do not want them to suffer needlessly. How old are the hens? Will your family care for them after you leave? Feed and water them, clean their coop and so forth? If they are not willing to do all those things, it may be better to cull them right away so they do not suffer. Otherwise you must teach them how to know when the birds become sick so they will know when it is time to cull them.

I wish you all happiness in your new school.

Thank you so much for your good wishes!

I'm so sorry you've had so many losses. It seems to me they just have the misfortune of bad genes. I also had a dear hen from my first flock pass away from a reproductive issue. She was really sweet and had a big floppy comb.

Could you teach your family to watch for really obvious easy to spot things, like strange droppings, discoloration, swollen eyes, super bloated abdomen, etc? those things can appear pretty early in an illness so culling them then would still keep them from a lot of pain. Since your pigeons haven't had any issues I wouldn't worry much about them. You might have more luck getting pigeon advice in the "pigeons and doves" forum section, most people in the general forums don't know much about them.

You still have a month before you leave right? I see from your posts the symptoms your other hens are having, I'd say if they don't improve in that time it would probably be best to cull them. I'm sorry you have to make a choice like this, it's so hard and painful. I wish you and your birds good luck and I hope you can still enjoy your time away.

Another one of my hen died today... just 2 hours ago. I will upload another thread regarding the cause of death since I'm confused as to why she died. Now there are only 4 left.
The hens are getting really stressed because of the constant mating by the rooster.

My family already knows how to clean their coop, what and what not to feed and how to go about things in general. But even I couldnt tell how sick she was to die under 10 minutes last I saw her...

 

[fatimastic]

I wish I was knowledgeable enough to give you advise but I'm not. I never thought I could love a chicken I have 4 I think I have 3 hens and I Rooster but still don't know after 2.5 months. I love holding the one named Ethel, she or he is so sweet to me. The others just want their food and water and forget about any interactions, lol. But anyway, try not to stress and do your best for them.

I'm so sorry you've had so many losses. It seems to me they just have the misfortune of bad genes. I also had a dear hen from my first flock pass away from a reproductive issue. She was really sweet and had a big floppy comb.

Could you teach your family to watch for really obvious easy to spot things, like strange droppings, discoloration, swollen eyes, super bloated abdomen, etc? those things can appear pretty early in an illness so culling them then would still keep them from a lot of pain. Since your pigeons haven't had any issues I wouldn't worry much about them. You might have more luck getting pigeon advice in the "pigeons and doves" forum section, most people in the general forums don't know much about them.

You still have a month before you leave right? I see from your posts the symptoms your other hens are having, I'd say if they don't improve in that time it would probably be best to cull them. I'm sorry you have to make a choice like this, it's so hard and painful. I wish you and your birds good luck and I hope you can still enjoy your time away.

First I wish to congratulate you on your academic future. It is very exciting that you are soon to be traveling out of country to enhance your education! I wish you all success and joy in your upcoming sdventure.

As to your birds, I cannot really advise you or tell you what to do, I can only suggest. It is unfortunate that they do not sound very healthy. Is your family able to cull them humanely when the time comes? It is good that you do not want them to suffer needlessly. How old are the hens? Will your family care for them after you leave? Feed and water them, clean their coop and so forth? If they are not willing to do all those things, it may be better to cull them right away so they do not suffer. Otherwise you must teach them how to know when the birds become sick so they will know when it is time to cull them.

I wish you all happiness in your new school.

I'm confused on what to do and how to move forward. As you all already know, I leave in nearly a month. Now there are only 4 hens left. Astro died of a heart attack on monday...
I'm really really hurt. I am tired of them just leaving and putting me under construction stress. I don't have it in me to get hurt anymore... just when I thought it was all getting better, I got reminded of all the trauma again. I can't go through it 4 more times over and over again.

2 out of 4 hens used to give eggs until a few days ago. One is visibly internal laying due to her large abdomen. And the other's abdomen is not getting larger, but it is hard and she is not laying. She will turn 2 in five days. Maybe she has stopped laying eggs?
It's very likely that my family will cull them while I'm gone. But whenever I think about that happening, my heart aches because I'm reminded of all the time we spent together and how much they all mean to me.

What would you all do in this situation?

 

[froggyphore]

Sorry for replying late, I saw your update yesterday but forgot to respond. This is a difficult situation. It’s hard to give objective advice on it. Personally, since they all seem to get these issues eventually, I would cull them. There is a chance they could be alright but most likely they will all develop these reproductive issues and pass from them. Plus, the rooster would likely overbreed and hurt just two hens. As well because you want to prevent their suffering and don’t want to have to go through this pain over and over.

Would it perhaps be easier on you to hold a ceremony for them and have them culled before you leave, instead of your family doing it while you’re away?

 

[fatimastic]

Sorry for replying late, I saw your update yesterday but forgot to respond. This is a difficult situation. It’s hard to give objective advice on it. Personally, since they all seem to get these issues eventually, I would cull them. There is a chance they could be alright but most likely they will all develop these reproductive issues and pass from them. Plus, the rooster would likely overbreed and hurt just two hens. As well because you want to prevent their suffering and don’t want to have to go through this pain over and over.

Would it perhaps be easier on you to hold a ceremony for them and have them culled before you leave, instead of your family doing it while you’re away?

I plan to spend a lot of time with them a day before my departure. Meet them, hug them, feed them their favourite foods and cuddle with them for the last time...
Maybe culling them before I leave would put me in more peace. Because I would know that I didnt abandon them and stayed by their side till the end.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I plan to spend a lot of time with them a day before my departure. Meet them, hug them, feed them their favourite foods and cuddle with them for the last time...
Maybe culling them before I leave would put me in more peace. Because I would know that I didnt abandon them and stayed by their side till the end.

It sounds like that might give you the most peace and keep you from worrying about them. I wish you peace, whatever you decide.