Eisenkrote
In the Brooder
We have six hens, 3 ducks and a drake. And we recently picked up 10 pullets from Rural King down here in Florida.
Right off the bat we lost two chicks. They weren’t in the best shape from their stay in the big box store. And it hurt to lose them, but I consoled myself with the fact that we did everything we could to bring them back from the brink.
Two weeks in and the remaining eight were doing well. They were starting to lose their fuzzy down and grow proper feathers, and even getting a hint of a ridge that would eventually be a comb.
It may be wrong to play favorites, but Froggy was mine. She was the first to perch, and was starting to do these effusive flights from the crow bar perch in their cage to the far side. She had spunk, and was setting a fine example for the other chicks.
This morning I was tending to their cage. We kept them in a dog cage in our garage, and reinforced the cage with chicken wire so the chicks wouldn’t squeeze through the bars.
I pulled their watering dish out to clean the wood chips out and replenish their water. And maybe if I’d been more careful, that would have been fine. The chicken wire outside the cage made latching the door tricky. I swear I’d latched it good before walking out of the garage. But apparently not. Froggy karate kicked across the cage, bounced off the door and embraced her new freedom.
I heard her “cheep” and came running but it was too late. Our pup was at the door of the cage, “caring for” the new baby who flew to her from out of the sky.
Chicks are fragile, and our pups gentle proddings were too much for Froggy. She expired in my hands.
Please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t Froggy’s fault for embracing her freedom. This isn’t our pups fault. This is on me. And if I’d shooed the dog away, or thought to put a caribiner clip on the door before walking away, Froggy would still be with us. And I feel a horrible responsibility for losing her.
The remaining chicks were moved to a very secure cage in our coop. There is now a latching gate, a coop door, and a locked cage between our pups and our chicks.
I’ve always been very diligent about bearing the consequences of my actions. But I’m also horrible at recovering when the consequences of my actions are suffered by others.
This one hurts. And I’m sorry for any pain this causes you reading about my irresponsibility, because I know you all love your babies and want the best for ours.
Anyway. Froggy deserves a remembrance. And I need to get past this because our chicks, hens and ducks need a diligent, responsible dad caring for and protecting them.
I’ll bounce back and do better. It’s just a rough day here.
