Oh wow, did not see that coming

[chknmomma]

My daughter had a playdate today with 2 friends both 6 year olds. We were sitting out in the yard in a circle with our 2 silkies chicks, 3 weeks old. Everyone was under strict orders to stay sitting down and the kids were nicely holding and rocking the chicks. All good.

My daughter suddenly gets sick and she and I are sprinting to the bathroom where she is throwing up. I am gone for all of 3 minutes.

As I walk outside to retrieve our 2 babies, I see one of the kids tossing the chick into the air (approximately 20 or 30 feet?) and watching it ker-plump on the ground. It was like a scene out of the movies in slow motion. I see this as I'm walking outside and running to the rescue. Just missing it. Since i missed the 2 minutes beforehand, I have no idea what was going on or why. I assume it had something to do with letting it fly??

Our baby was not doing well immediately after the incident. But it seems to be fine??? Eating, drinking, walking, etc. Anything else I should do to help it or signs/indications that things aren't good???


I feel HORRIBLE about the whole thing; I wouldn't normally leave a kid alone with a chick. But my daughter was screaming in pain and sick. Child vs. chick.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

what the heck is wrong with that kid!

 

[chknmomma]

Right???

Would a kindergartner really do that normally??? We aren't talking about a 2 yr old. A child finishing the first year of elementary school. Really?


I feel HORRIBLE about the whole thing. Just sick really. Ugh.

 

[RareBreedFancier]

I hope your chick is ok!

I would never EVER let that kid be alone with any of your animals, something really wrong there. If they were trying to get the chick to fly I can imagine a gentle toss and the chick falling a few feet but heaving it up into the air like that, that's just wrong and even a kid that age should know that.

 

[wbruder17]

I would have a conversation with that kid's mother, with child present. Unfortunately, this is a great" teachable moment" and really should not be left alone. That child needs to learn right from wrong and so does its mother.

 

[JerseyHen]

Wow, what possesses a child to do something like that? I would think at 6 they could be trusted a little to know that would be wrong. I hope your daughter is feeling better soon and that the chick makes a full recovery.

 

[wbruder17]

Quote:
Unfortunately, 6 year old really have no idea why they do what they do. Actually, neither do pre-teens, teenagers, or even many adults. That is why this needs to be used as a teaching tool to show them, and their parents, what to do/not to do.

 

[dragon86]

hate to say it but when i was that age i accidentlly killed my fair share of chicks that my dad raise even though he had close to 200 at the time but even though i was told time and time again i really didnt understand that i was holding them wrong and stuff like that but i do remeber tring to get the chicks to fly i dont think i threw them 20 to 30 ft though that seems pretty high for a kid to throw a chick but i do know most lived cause the fluffy down cushioned they fall some what. what mostly killed them was petting them to hard but i am glad to say i grew out of that and figured out the proper way to hold them and that no matter what u tell a kid dont leave them alone with small animals after all curiosity killed the cat. but hopfully ur chick does alright.

 

[chknmomma]

Thank you all for the words and responses. Kids will be kids and accidents will happen. I won't let my own child be alone with the chicks because her grip is too hard. She has sensory issues, so part of it is just a normal kid learning what is ok and what isn't and part of her issue is not understanding that it's too hard.

But this wasn't a gentle tossing. It went above a tree top. That's a hard throw, right? It does seem like something is off with said child. On the other hand, my husband said all little boys want to do is kill things, blow them up, and see what happens. So by that thought I can see some throwing. I can see how you could try to see if it flies. But the chick went so high in the air that I could hardly see it. I thought he threw something else like a ball. Then recognized that his hands were empty. More disturbing is that literally 2 minutes earlier he was sitting on the ground holding the chick in his hands and rocking it gently. I was praising him for how nice and gently he was being.

Boys will be boys or keep an eye on the neighborhood cats for injuries?

Also is there anything we can do for our baby chick???

 

[chicknhawaii]

I'm a mom of a 6-yr-old boy & he would NEVER do something like that to a chick or other small animal. Accidentally drop? MAYBE. My older son never did anything like that either. I don't believe in the "boys will be boys" thing or all boys want to blow things up, etc. as your hubs said. Boys (or girls) who do things like that lack awareness & that awareness has to be taught by the parents.

As for your poor chickie, I have no advice really except to maybe take it to the vet for a check-up.

I hope it's ok...

I hope you & your daughter are ok too!