Should I get baby chicks????

[bibi_arts]

Hello, I'm relatively new to chickens, I've had them for a little more than half a year, and I need genuine advice. At the moment I have 2 young hens, though I used to have more. My original flock consisted if 5, but 3 mysteriously died at 1 month old, most likely from the shock of the change in environment. It was devastating, they were my first pets. Realizing the shock of deceased siblings could cause the others to die we got more chickens of around the same age for company. They all ended up dying. I theorize the causes were heat stress, stress, and bullying. Our chickens didn't like them. Again, it was devastating. I felt guilty for all their deaths. I just wish I would've known what to do at the time. After that we didn't get more chickens for a while. Until we thought one of our pullets had been taken away by a hawk, when she was really just hiding. We got MORE pullets. Then life was pretty good UNTIL one got sick. We think she ate something bad or had intense sour crop. Anyway by the time she showed symptoms it was too late. That one was very sad. THEN, another one ran off. She was always jumping fences and running away for the night then coming back the next day. But then one day she didn't. Then one of my all time favorite baby hens died from a hawk attack, it was the one who got away the first time. This one absolutely tore me up. She never got to lay her first egg. Now it's been 2 months and one of my hens really wants to be a mother. My sister wants more baby chicks. I don't want more innocent chickens to die. I know its normal for them to die, but there are other chicken keepers who've never even lost a chicken. I can't help feeling that maybe we aren't aren't meant for chickens although the two we have seem happy and they make me happy. It seems like everyone wants baby chicks except for me. Although it seems like they would provide a little sunshine in the gloomy clouds I've in in lately...what should I do?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I don't know anyone that has chickens that hasn't had some die. That being said, it doesn't sound like your heart is in it, so I say pass.

 

[bibi_arts]

I don't know anyone that has chickens that hasn't had some die. That being said, it doesn't sound like your heart is in it, so I say pass.

Thank you My sister and my hen really want chicks, but we'll see! Have a nice day.

 

[Sarah1up]

Definitely wait until you are sure! Nothing worse than getting something that requires responsibility when you aren't in the right place for it. Maybe list out the reasons you don't want more chicks and then you can have a reminder to go back to when you feel the pull. Maybe you don't feel up the amount of work, time, and attention it will take right now. Maybe you aren't emotionally ready. That's okay! You'll know when the time is right, but don't let someone else talk you into it. You'll just resent the person and the chickens at a later time.

 

[bibi_arts]

Definitely wait until you are sure! Nothing worse than getting something that requires responsibility when you aren't in the right place for it. Maybe list out the reasons you don't want more chicks and then you can have a reminder to go back to when you feel the pull. Maybe you don't feel up the amount of work, time, and attention it will take right now. Maybe you aren't emotionally ready. That's okay! You'll know when the time is right, but don't let someone else talk you into it. You'll just resent the person and the chickens at a later time.

Thank you so much for your response ❤ I definitely will think about it. I don't want to regret anything.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think you first need to consider if you actually want to add more chickens, as a family. Then you need to reinforce your set up - it's neither predator proof nor escape proof if you're getting runaways and hawk attacks.

Did you happen to get a necropsy done on the ones that passed away? Or do you remember what signs of illness they showed? Where did you get them? It's not normal to lose 4 of 6 to illness.

 

[Sarah1up]

I think you first need to consider if you actually want to add more chickens, as a family. Then you need to reinforce your set up - it's neither predator proof nor escape proof if you're getting runaways and hawk attacks.

Did you happen to get a necropsy done on the ones that passed away? Or do you remember what signs of illness they showed? Where did you get them? It's not normal to lose 4 of 6 to illness.

Really good advice. I was wanting to say something about not letting loss stop you from having chickens but it definitely needs to be a learning experience and gone back into with a lot of thought.