I need some support guys. I just had the worst day ever. EVER. I've had a lot of bird losses this month, predators, new bird died, chick died. Took my rooster to the vet and found out he's a carrier for chronic respiratory disease and so I had to put him down. Still waiting on the final pathology report on the chick I took to the state lab for necropsy and hoping I don't have to depopulate the flock, but I might have to. Anyway, so, in the whole "going from bad to worse" thing, I wanted to do the deed for my poor rooster really fast and quick and painless. I've slaughtered guinea fowl before, so I figured just pithing and slitting his throat would be fastest. I picked up the poor bird, and decided to use a scalpel instead of the knife I used last time, because the knife was kinda dull. Thought the scalpel would be sharpest and fastest. Anyway. I fed Pac a bunch of grain. The kids wanted to help, but I didn't want them to see me kill him, so I said they could help bury him. They agreed. So, I took him out behind the barn, and cuddled him and cried and talked to him about what a good bird he was and how much I loved him, and I fed him all the grain. Then I tucked him up under my arm. I did the pith, and it seemed to bleed a lot. I held his throat and sliced across the jugular, and it bled a lot. I held him until he was still and his breathing was really, really shallow. Then I laid him on the ground and waited with him. He stopped breathing. I picked him up. He was limp. I took him over to the hole I'd dug earlier, and laid him in it. I called the kids over and we prayed. Then we started to cover him up, and I swear, he jumped up OUT OF THE HOLE AND STARTED RUNNING AROUND SPURTING BLOOD EVERYWHERE! He ran to the coop and spurted blood all over the hens who freaked right out and still won't look at me. We caught him, and he was all limp again and we put him back in the hole and he did it again! The third time we put him in the hole I hit him in the head with the shovel and we buried him fast. And as if that wasn't bad enough, just now, well, at 10:30 at night, my baby (3 years old) woke up screaming and sobbing that he "Just don't want to get killed". He'd had a bad dream and decided that if he got sick Mommy was going to kill him with a shovel. I feel like a failure as a farmer AND a mother now.
Worst. Day. Ever.
Traci
Traci
