My Friend Is Dead

[Imp]

I'm so sorry, Sad when you lose the special ones. I'm glad you didn't cull him when he was young, he brought a light into your lives.

Imp- they are special for a reason.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:

Maybe Mother Nature gives the special needs chicks to those of us that aren't "expert chickenkeepers" because she knows they will be loved and cherished for what they are and not culled unnecessarily.

 

[chicmom]

Aww, so sorry!

 

[rgfairey]

So sorry--he sounded so neat!

 

[hiwasseenursery]

Sad to see a pet go. Sorry for your loss. Sounds like he led a good life. Crooked beak R.I.P

 

[ScottyHOMEy]

I suspect you approach your birds differently that I do mine, but please accept my sympathies.

I run two or three batches of meat birds thru each year and maintain a small flock of layers. We get along fine, I enjoy the various "games" that emerge from their different personalities. As well as I get to "know" them, I've yet to give a chicken a name. That's not a knock on you for having done so. It's more my nature . . . insulation, if you will, against the day I may have to make a hard but necessary decision.

Of the chicks that make up the current laying ladies, one WW emerged with a twisted (not entirely crossed) beak. I kept an eye on her with the usual concerns of her being able to get her measure of feed and water to thrive. She surprised me. At 12 weeks, she was the biggest and most active of the lot. In retrospect, I can testify that her chickenly pecks pinched more than the others, and suspected that she may have attained her size and boldness from coming to the top of the pecking order for that very reason.

Not long after, however, I found her down. A thorough going over didn't come up with anything. With some assistance back to feed and water, she perked back up and seemed to be her regular self. Kept a sharper eye on her than usual, and she did well through the day. I found her down again the next morning, terribly pecked, and so far gone she wouldn't touch food or water.

I culled her.

Lessons? Maybe she could have been saved with earlier isolation and later re-introduction. Flip-side, as I could find no injury, before the pecking, goes to the suggestion that others have made that an irregular beak may be linked genetically to other weaknesses in the bird. Either way, it's all part of the reality of husbandry. Not always easy.

I hope all of this doesn't seem too awfully detached. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.

 

[mochicken]

Not not bad at all, I work on an ambulance service and see death and pain in every day of my life and know what you mean about insulating yourself by not naming them and giving them a "personality" if you will.

I have my mixed flock and I like them, but I could eat them if I got hungry

my wife would probably starve first lol but she has never seen how those nice little kfc chickens are treated before they hit her plate lmao.

I got attached to this one because he was special, I felt sorry for him at first but then with all the extra attention he received he became a spoiled brat and would follow you around like a dog, I considered culling him before but the DW wouldnt let me lol. I think that he was just out "favorite" because he actually wanted affection, not like the others that come to you for food lol he would come up to you if you knelt down and let you pet him and he was our first chicken and only chicken to do this as a grown bird. The rest of the flock are layers with a few ornery roosters and I honestly like them only because they lay eggs lol.

 

[RedheadErin]

I'm so sorry about your buddy rooster. We lost 3 pet mice (2 of whom were special needs, too) and a hamster this year, so I feel your pain.

It sucks to lose animals you love.