I just found two more dead, I'm losing it. Update post #32.

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
This is not my first round the death-merry-go-round, that's for sure. My proble is these were PREVENTABLE deaths of my FAVOURITES. And I had to go through the act of murdering one of my (I thought at the time) favourite ducks because she was injured. And I had to do all of this in a span of THREE DAYS.

I've had lots of stupid chickens and 'lings and babies die... they DO that, it's like some macabre chicken karma or something.

I only buried the last freezer full (we fill 'em up and empty it) two nights ago.... it's full again. THAT might just be what's upsetting me.

I'm not crying. I can't cry for some reason. I'm just so... upset... shocked... sad.... miserable.

I was doing SO WELL until I found the ducklings this morning and that set me off. FOUR in THREE DAYS.

 

[elizabethbinary]

If I just threw the ducklings in the compost and covered them and walked away, would anybody think less of me? I can't deal with burying more babies. I can't. And it makes my husband lose his mind to make graves. He can handle killing them more than burying them.

 

[tnchickenut]

Well, it certainly sounds like no one is listening. Maybe you should tell them (not that they would listen) to just leave the animals alone and let you care for them.

And then people wonder why I won't hire a neighbor's kid to watch the animals so I can take a trip. I might come home to something like this.

I am certainly understanding your frustration. How many flatmates do you have? Are we talking about one or two other people or alot?

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Three.

It did bother me a little that the were collecting eggs before I could. That was MY thing. I hate to be persnickity but I always enjoyed my daily egg-collecting. And then they got bored with it or something and stopped doing it whe I thought they were so I ended up with almost 20 dirty as heck eggs and a bunch of busted ones from the laying too many in the same spot. *GRRRR* I just wish SOMEONE would tell me... but then it turns into a "I thought YOU were doing it" moment. GRRRR.

and it kinda creeps me out one kid ("kid" = 25) insists on picking up and hugging my chickens every day.

They're not used to animals and they're (two of them) are pretty lazy.. so sometimes they'll do something and sometimes they won't... so it's really difficult to figure what's going on. They clearly know nothing about birds.. which is probably why THE RAMP SHOULD HAVE STAYED.

*sniff*

It does seem like it was all sortof accidental.. like I don't think the did it on purpose and it's STUPID that THEIR lesson is MY loss.

My poor girlfriend lost her rooster and one of her alpacas nearly killed her other alpaca... so she's not doing so well either. Farming misery. *sigh*

I will tell them to leave the darn birds alone. MY BIRDS.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
Three.

It did bother me a little that the were collecting eggs before I could. That was MY thing. I hate to be persnickity but I always enjoyed my daily egg-collecting. And then they got bored with it or something and stopped doing it whe I thought they were so I ended up with almost 20 dirty as heck eggs and a bunch of busted ones from the laying too many in the same spot. *GRRRR* I just wish SOMEONE would tell me... but then it turns into a "I thought YOU were doing it" moment. GRRRR.

and it kinda creeps me out one kid ("kid" = 25) insists on picking up and hugging my chickens every day.

They're not used to animals and they're (two of them) are pretty lazy.. so sometimes they'll do something and sometimes they won't... so it's really difficult to figure what's going on. They clearly know nothing about birds.. which is probably why THE RAMP SHOULD HAVE STAYED.

*sniff*

It does seem like it was all sortof accidental.. like I don't think the did it on purpose and it's STUPID that THEIR lesson is MY loss.

My poor girlfriend lost her rooster and one of her alpacas nearly killed her other alpaca... so she's not doing so well either. Farming misery. *sigh*

I will tell them to leave the darn birds alone. MY BIRDS.

It can be hard especially for someone who loves their animals as much as you. Then to have it happen because of other people's stupidity makes it worse. It must be very hard for you right now.

 

[tnchickenut]

Yeah, it sounds like that might be the best option... just tell them "thanks, but no thanks" and do it all yourself. I am a "I'd rather do it myself" type person... then I know exactly who to blame when something happens.

In the least maybe a (and this is crazy) checklist on the fridge or something... but you would have to get everyone to actually use the list. Like if you collected eggs.. mark it off... if you watered everyone.. mark it off. But i'm guess that wouldn't work if they can't even say "I watered them already" or "I didn't get a chance to water them already"

Yup. I'd be OCD and do it all myself, personally.


Still... I'm sorry for your loss!!

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Thank you. I still don't know how Lady ended up with 3 duck eggs under her either since we collected them all yesterday.. so someone put eggs under her and I don't know who did that either. (my Muscovy will get clucky at the drop of a hat... and then she'll pawn her babies off to chickens to raise and do it again).

I'm still grateful my favourite duck is still alive (and how disrespectful is this... her name is Nancy, right? Nancy Sinatra... she's for Elvis. My flatmate says to me Nancy sounds funny, I should name her something like Audrey Hepburn... I was like, no her name is Nancy... but SHE STILL CALLS NANCY AUDREY "Oh is Audrey still alive?" NO BUT NANCY IS!!!)

There's a real strict system and I don't think these people realize (BUT THEY WILL WHEN THEY WAKE UP I HAVE WORDS CANT YOU SEE?!) that a strict order is NECESSARY for raising animals. There's a reason for everything I do. There's a REASON I gather eggs DAILY (so they don't crush or get poo on them, geeze). There's a REASON I collect fertilized duck eggs and don't give them to my ducks immediately. There's a REASON I have the bowl of eggs which are then transferred to the cartons in a specific order. It's all done for a reason. You can't MESS with those reasons because you THINK you know better... because there's a good chance you DON'T. *ranty ranty*

I am already OCD, this is just going to make me a psycho OCD freak.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Three.

It did bother me a little that the were collecting eggs before I could. That was MY thing. I hate to be persnickity but I always enjoyed my daily egg-collecting. And then they got bored with it or something and stopped doing it whe I thought they were so I ended up with almost 20 dirty as heck eggs and a bunch of busted ones from the laying too many in the same spot. *GRRRR* I just wish SOMEONE would tell me... but then it turns into a "I thought YOU were doing it" moment. GRRRR.

and it kinda creeps me out one kid ("kid" = 25) insists on picking up and hugging my chickens every day.

They're not used to animals and they're (two of them) are pretty lazy.. so sometimes they'll do something and sometimes they won't... so it's really difficult to figure what's going on. They clearly know nothing about birds.. which is probably why THE RAMP SHOULD HAVE STAYED.

*sniff*

It does seem like it was all sortof accidental.. like I don't think the did it on purpose and it's STUPID that THEIR lesson is MY loss.

My poor girlfriend lost her rooster and one of her alpacas nearly killed her other alpaca... so she's not doing so well either. Farming misery. *sigh*

I will tell them to leave the darn birds alone. MY BIRDS.

It can be hard especially for someone who loves their animals as much as you. Then to have it happen because of other people's stupidity makes it worse. It must be very hard for you right now.

Thank you. I do love my babies. I'm so glad nobody hurt Elvis or they'd lose their heads. And NANCY is okay, too. Thank you so much for your last sentence. Sometimes I just want someone else to *acknowledge* it's hard for me, y'know? Not just pass it off like I'll get over it... people KEEP doing that to me. Oh, it's a shame oh it's a shame oh it's a shame. IT'S MY DUCKS AND CHICKENS. It IS a shame... but nobody ever says "I'm so sorry, it must be so hard.".... thank you. thank you so much. It's nice to know I'm not insane for feeling the way I do.

I'm usually the stoic one, I am. I never cry. NEVER. Even when I killed "nancy" I didn't cry... even when my chick died, I didn't cry... I'm still not crying...

But.. it IS still hard. Thank you.

 

[sheila3935]

Liz,
I am so sorry my heart and eyes cry for you.

I know how you must feel. Yes I would want to get to the bottom of this too. People just dont understand the feelings we have for our babies. They are not just animals they are part of the family. I am sending you

and prayers. We are all here for you even if we are hundreds of miles away.

 

[drdoolittle]

Wow, you've had a terrible week. I don't fully understand your living arrangements------or who all the other people are who have been "helping" care for your animals, but I don't blame you one bit for deciding to tell them to stop "helping" and just leave the animals alone.

I also know what you mean when you say you were upset with your hubby for asking what happened instead of asking how you felt. One of my best laying hens (Speckles---an EE) was killed today by our own dog. We have a huge pen the chickens, ducks, geese, and goats free-range in during the day. Sometimes a few of the hens will decide to fly/jump over the fence. Most of the time, I get them back in before the dogs notice, sometimes not. Today Speckles decided to go exploring, and one of the dogs got her. I was very upset at first, because I thought it was my favorite roo----one I can't easily replace (well, he's an Ameracauna and very beautiful).

My hubby kept asking how it happened, when it happened and did I already dispose of the roo----was I SURE it was the roo, SURE it was even one of my chickens and not a feral one?

Then I saw my roo in the pen and realised it was probably Speckles----which wasn't much better, as she was a good laying hen, and it's still upsetting.

These things are just going to happen when we own animals, it's part of life-----still doesn't make it easy. I won't keep my chickens in a small covered run just so one or two don't get killed-----I'd rather they have a happy, enjoyable life. I hope things calm down for you. Maybe you need to sit everyone down and explain some simple "Animal Care Rules" for the others involved. My thoughts are with you.