I wanted to start this thread for everyone who if feeling like a chicken parent failure. Please tell your stories to relieve yourself. Respond if you want but you do not have to. You don't even have to read past this first paragraph. Please remain polite and positive if you do respond. We are on this thread because we are already beating ourselves up.
I love my birds more then I thought I would. I knew they would never be dinner but I really didn't think I would cry with their loss. I've only had chickens for 2 years and suffered 9 losses. My first girls were hand me down birds to see if I liked having chickens. All over 2 at least I thought it was a good start. Those first 6 made it through winter and with spring I thought I would add to the flock. I brought home 3 mixed breed birds from a friend. 2 turned out to be boys which is were my soft heart really showed. I didn't want a rooster at all and ended up keeping both. I then picked up 6 more girls. Around this time is when I had to deal with my first loss. One girl developed suspected EYP. Once she had trouble getting around a friend kindly put her out of her misery for me. Everything was going good till I lost one of my new girls to a hawk. The not quite mature boys tried to protect the flock. I blamed myself for not protecting them better and we all went into winter. Most of my older girls went into molt and everything again seemed normal till December. Suddenly the sister to the first I lost stopped laying and appeared to start to molt. She always had an empty crop but was eating and acting fairly normal. She moved into the basement where I tended her mystery illness. She would do good then go downhill again. I found her dead one morning. I chalked it up to old age being a factor in her fight. Then another girl, not having laid her first egg, showed the same signs. I only tended her about 2 weeks when I watched her seize and die. On the lookout for anything abnormal I watched all the birds like I thought they would keel over at any moment. Another of the older girls came out of winter with the signs of her age. Pale comb and no waddles to speak of. She wouldn't be laying anymore eggs. Then I noticed her standing like a penguin. Not the swollen fluid filled belly like my first loss. This was something else. When she couldn't get around on her own my friend again came to help me. (what a debt I owe) Not a month later another girl was moving very slow and within 2 days was gone. It was spring again and I thought I'd try my hand at hatching. Thought for sure things where on the up when I hatched 7 of 9 and 5 of those turned out to be girls. To round out the numbers for my 2 boys I got 2 confirmed pullets from a local breeder. Tragedy struck again a hot day in June. I went out for bed checks and both my roosters were dead. No sign of a fight, a predator or any kind of problem. Just 2 dead roosters on the coop floor. Ever vigilant I must have drove the remaining flock crazy with all the checking. One sign of cocci and treatment was started. I did it for 5 days and saw no more. Then one of the two last remaining older girls started having phlegmy sounding breathing at night. No other signs of sickness. Again cocci poo showed up so I started that treatment again. Part way through I realized I wasn't giving the right dose. I stopped, planned on waiting a few days to start over, properly. Then coughing started. Again no other symptoms but bought colloidal silver and started administering it immediately. Then a 10 week old sneezed. Colloidal silver given. Saw another cocci poop which reminded me to start that treatment again. One night gave the two their silver (day 4) and everyone got some bee propolis for good measure. Started cocci treatment the next day. Today I lost a 10 week old. Not the sneezing one I was expecting. Found her laying on the floor. I figure she was my cocci victim. Continuing treatment, correctly, for the full 7 days. And everyone got silver and propolis before bed. The two sound better with 7 days a colloidal silver down. They will keep getting it. I'm going to ozonate the coop in the coming days, weather permitting. My fun journey has been full of uncertainty and heartbreak. I know my older girls had a spoiled happy final year or so. I know I've done some things right. I tell myself I'm doing the best I can. The loss of the little one hit me hard. I can't blame where she came from or how she was raised and treated on anyone but myself.
So that is my pity party. If you made it this far you are glutton for punishment but thank you for reading it all the way through.
Now unburden yourself and feel better. I do.
I love my birds more then I thought I would. I knew they would never be dinner but I really didn't think I would cry with their loss. I've only had chickens for 2 years and suffered 9 losses. My first girls were hand me down birds to see if I liked having chickens. All over 2 at least I thought it was a good start. Those first 6 made it through winter and with spring I thought I would add to the flock. I brought home 3 mixed breed birds from a friend. 2 turned out to be boys which is were my soft heart really showed. I didn't want a rooster at all and ended up keeping both. I then picked up 6 more girls. Around this time is when I had to deal with my first loss. One girl developed suspected EYP. Once she had trouble getting around a friend kindly put her out of her misery for me. Everything was going good till I lost one of my new girls to a hawk. The not quite mature boys tried to protect the flock. I blamed myself for not protecting them better and we all went into winter. Most of my older girls went into molt and everything again seemed normal till December. Suddenly the sister to the first I lost stopped laying and appeared to start to molt. She always had an empty crop but was eating and acting fairly normal. She moved into the basement where I tended her mystery illness. She would do good then go downhill again. I found her dead one morning. I chalked it up to old age being a factor in her fight. Then another girl, not having laid her first egg, showed the same signs. I only tended her about 2 weeks when I watched her seize and die. On the lookout for anything abnormal I watched all the birds like I thought they would keel over at any moment. Another of the older girls came out of winter with the signs of her age. Pale comb and no waddles to speak of. She wouldn't be laying anymore eggs. Then I noticed her standing like a penguin. Not the swollen fluid filled belly like my first loss. This was something else. When she couldn't get around on her own my friend again came to help me. (what a debt I owe) Not a month later another girl was moving very slow and within 2 days was gone. It was spring again and I thought I'd try my hand at hatching. Thought for sure things where on the up when I hatched 7 of 9 and 5 of those turned out to be girls. To round out the numbers for my 2 boys I got 2 confirmed pullets from a local breeder. Tragedy struck again a hot day in June. I went out for bed checks and both my roosters were dead. No sign of a fight, a predator or any kind of problem. Just 2 dead roosters on the coop floor. Ever vigilant I must have drove the remaining flock crazy with all the checking. One sign of cocci and treatment was started. I did it for 5 days and saw no more. Then one of the two last remaining older girls started having phlegmy sounding breathing at night. No other signs of sickness. Again cocci poo showed up so I started that treatment again. Part way through I realized I wasn't giving the right dose. I stopped, planned on waiting a few days to start over, properly. Then coughing started. Again no other symptoms but bought colloidal silver and started administering it immediately. Then a 10 week old sneezed. Colloidal silver given. Saw another cocci poop which reminded me to start that treatment again. One night gave the two their silver (day 4) and everyone got some bee propolis for good measure. Started cocci treatment the next day. Today I lost a 10 week old. Not the sneezing one I was expecting. Found her laying on the floor. I figure she was my cocci victim. Continuing treatment, correctly, for the full 7 days. And everyone got silver and propolis before bed. The two sound better with 7 days a colloidal silver down. They will keep getting it. I'm going to ozonate the coop in the coming days, weather permitting. My fun journey has been full of uncertainty and heartbreak. I know my older girls had a spoiled happy final year or so. I know I've done some things right. I tell myself I'm doing the best I can. The loss of the little one hit me hard. I can't blame where she came from or how she was raised and treated on anyone but myself.
So that is my pity party. If you made it this far you are glutton for punishment but thank you for reading it all the way through.
Now unburden yourself and feel better. I do.
