I still don't know how to do this multi-quote thing. Responding here to @MaryJanet and @Shadrach posts above.
Thank you both - it all helps make me feel better. In my brain I know I am doing my best and that my best is not awful. But to lose two so rapidly really hurts.
I also need to remember that I nursed Bernadette successfully (watch her run now!) and also Minnie who looked close to death with her sour crop.
So I have a 50% success rate so far.
Yes, Shad, both Bella and Dotty died in my arms in the Chicken Palace surrounded by their buddies.
I don't know if it made any difference to them but it felt like the right thing to do.
Although Bella was ill for a long time and Dotty only for a couple of days, both went from relatively stable to dead in a very short time. Somehow I could tell by looking at them which is why I was there on hand with tears running down my face.
I have also learned a lot and am now able to do things I could never have done before. Of course I hope never to have to do any of them again, but I have surprised myself with how far I have come in learning to nurse these little creatures.
I also feel I have learned to sense when a chicken is under the weather and when seriously ill. I guess that will be useful in the future.
Thank you both - it all helps make me feel better. In my brain I know I am doing my best and that my best is not awful. But to lose two so rapidly really hurts.
I also need to remember that I nursed Bernadette successfully (watch her run now!) and also Minnie who looked close to death with her sour crop.
So I have a 50% success rate so far.
Yes, Shad, both Bella and Dotty died in my arms in the Chicken Palace surrounded by their buddies.
I don't know if it made any difference to them but it felt like the right thing to do.
Although Bella was ill for a long time and Dotty only for a couple of days, both went from relatively stable to dead in a very short time. Somehow I could tell by looking at them which is why I was there on hand with tears running down my face.
I have also learned a lot and am now able to do things I could never have done before. Of course I hope never to have to do any of them again, but I have surprised myself with how far I have come in learning to nurse these little creatures.
I also feel I have learned to sense when a chicken is under the weather and when seriously ill. I guess that will be useful in the future.