worrying too much?

[JosieMae]

Hi guys,

I have five beautiful hens who I absolutely adore, and I like to think they love me because they follow me around and always beg to be touched...
I am constantly worrying though about them and at the sign of anything unusual I jump onto google and start freaking out, even though it turns out to be nothing...Any tips on how to just chill, and also, some reassurance??

Thanks

 

[rjohns39]

Time is your friend... As you become more confident, you'll freak out less. And you'll learn to spot signs of real trouble.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Time is your friend... As you become more confident, you'll freak out less. And you'll learn to spot signs of real trouble.

X2

How old are your birds now? It may help to remind yourself that you have already brought them through x weeks, months or years., drip you are clearly doing something right.

 

[JosieMae]

X2

How old are your birds now? It may help to remind yourself that you have already brought them through x weeks, months or years., drip you are clearly doing something right.

About six months, I've had alot that haven't made it though since we raised them as chicks and they weren't very hearty, but I'm pampering these 5

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

The first time I felt a full crop, I thought it was a tumor. I was 10 seconds away from calling my vet when my roommate kindly pointed it out. I've relaxed a lot since that embarrassing freakout.

It's harder to freakout less when you lose chicks, but yeah, time and knowing that you'll know when something is serious.

 

[JosieMae]

The first time I felt a full crop, I thought it was a tumor. I was 10 seconds away from calling my vet when my roommate kindly pointed it out. I've relaxed a lot since that embarrassing freakout.

It's harder to freakout less when you lose chicks, but yeah, time and knowing that you'll know when something is serious.

Thanks

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Having a history of significant losses certainly lends itself to continued hypervigilance. did you establish actual causes to those previous losses?

 

[JosieMae]

Having a history of significant losses certainly lends itself to continued hypervigilance. did you establish actual causes to those previous losses?

I think they came from a bad stock...Two died at three days from some weird illness that took them right out. One flipped on its back in the middle of the night as a chick and we found it in the morning, and another I had to constantly watch because it fell over but one morning something happened and it ended up dieing. I had an Amerucana when it was a couple months old that had to be euthanized by a vet because it had a weird kind of neurological issue....yeah, its been hard

 

[rjohns39]

When you start raising birds, its predetermined that you will lose some. Sometimes you know why and sometimes not. I can tell you that there are several vets on BYC and they are very helpful--but I've been told by two that there are many folks out here who have been doing it longer and are better equipped to diagnose and treat birds than what they learned in vet school. Last winter, I had my birds in their winter house, which is a greenhouse. I left to go to the lumber yard it was 34 degrees. When I came out of the store it was 80 degrees. I was 45 minutes from home. When I finally got there I had seven dead chickens, five dead ducks, and two dead turkeys--all from heat stroke. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, things happen... Its best if you get comfortable with the fact that you're doing your best.

 

[JosieMae]

When you start raising birds, its predetermined that you will lose some. Sometimes you know why and sometimes not. I can tell you that there are several vets on BYC and they are very helpful--but I've been told by two that there are many folks out here who have been doing it longer and are better equipped to diagnose and treat birds than what they learned in vet school. Last winter, I had my birds in their winter house, which is a greenhouse. I left to go to the lumber yard it was 34 degrees. When I came out of the store it was 80 degrees. I was 45 minutes from home. When I finally got there I had seven dead chickens, five dead ducks, and two dead turkeys--all from heat stroke. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, things happen... Its best if you get comfortable with the fact that you're doing your best.

Thank you so much! Yes, situations are unpredictable....