two of my chickens have died :(

[HiDelight]

I am just so sad! I have over the past couple of months lost two chickens to being eggbound (one yesterday) ..I can not stand it! it makes me want to buy eggs at the farmers market and stop with the chickens...what a horrible death it is...well my husband interviened and gave them a merciful end but darn it they suffered I am sure before we noticed

I love having the hens they are giving me such joy ..lots of eggs...scratching up the weeds in the yard I want plowed ...they give me fertilizer and eat up all my scraps

but this is so sad!

I do not mind humane butchering animals for food... I am a true omnivore but I do not like to see things die a painful death

 

[Greenthumb18]

Ohhh I'm so sorry HiDelight, i understand how sad you must be, it is a real joy to have them around the garden. Eggbound is a horrible thing for a hen to go through, did you try to lubricate it with olive oil, sometimes the egg will come right out.

I hope this won't happen again !!

 

[HiDelight]

..with the first one I did not know what it was until it was too late and this one it was too late when I realized what happend ..but when I do my daily checks on them I will for sure look closer from now on ...they free range all day and we count them as they go in the coop at night ..I did not see her looking bad until it was too late

thank you so much

 

[locavore]

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Greensage45]

I am so sorry to hear of your chicken losses. I too have had to go through several chicken deaths recently myself.

We do all we can do, we even go above and beyond most times; I go through monthly vent checks for mites and poor hygiene, yet, this past week my oldest hen somehow developed maggots around her vent and they literally ate a hole right through her. It had only been a few weeks and up until I discovered this I had not noticed any odd behavior on her part. She was just about 8 years old. I was devastated and to be honest it was horrific. I dispatched her before she knew what I was doing. Everyone got a vent-check again and this time a spray of pyrethrin. I also treat systemically twice a year with moxidectin.

My list is long, from eggbound to impacted crop, and even from predators.

Sometimes you just run out of names for all the new ones and yet they never fail to win your heart.

I can still remember my first loss back in 2002, she was a little birchen cochin hen, her name was Jubilee. The concrete flooring of my new coop reads: "The House of Jubilee" I buried her right where I built my new coop. I wonder if in like 50 years someone might be here and wonder.

There is some older concrete at my house that has little human foot prints and hands and the date reads 1957, there is also a name but I would have to go back to look.

Also my bunnies apartment has concrete flooring and when I poured that my oldest Mille Fleur ran through it leaving behind a wandering trail of prints; I should have scratched her name in there as well as the year. Her name was Yaki, the other half of Teri (Teri-yaki) LOL

Biggest Huggs, Ron

 

[Hattie the Hen]

My heart goes out to you HiDelight!


:rose Hattie :rose

 

[HiDelight]

thank you so much for the empathy ....loss seems to just be part of living I guess ..and no I never get over things either .. but life has its moments ..and I guess that things find a place to fit into the journey ..
we have our gardens so there is always that therapy

it will be ok but if I keep loosing chickens I am so not going to get more this is way to sad for me

Greensage wow you have had it far worse than I have so far I am so sorry!!!

hugs you guys and thank you again

 

[patandchickens]

Big hug.

Ilost all of my first 3 chickens, ISA Browns, to internal laying before the oldest was 2, so I know what it's like.

The less-high-laying-performance more-modest-egg-size breeds are on average less prone to female troubles, so that might be something to consider next time you are getting chicks. Unfortunately though chickens just *are* pretty short-lived critters, even compared to, like, cats or horses.

Best wishes,

Pat

 

[HiDelight]

I will consider it Pat and thank you ..I have a Spangled Hamburg that I love ..very funny looking busy spirited thing it lays a tiny pink egg every other day....I bet she out lives all the other ones I have she just has so much fortitude!!!

I will see how it goes with the other 9 I have left and if all goes well then fine I will continue but at this point in my life I do understand that they are chickens and may not live long but I want them to die of oldness instead of torture! if they are prone to this I dont want to have them ..honestly my heart can not handle to have animals suffer die right now I am just not in that kind of place

 

[Greensage45]

Oh no,

You cannot give up HiDelight, it is impossible! In several months, maybe even a year will go by and the moment you see some tiny peeping faces will be the moment you add back to your flock.

Maybe this is all in Mother Nature's hands, that is if you have a rooster, and this coming Spring you will be rewarded with more peeps.

I have said the same thing you have about reducing and letting this flock pass on, but the rewards far out-way the hardships. I believe I am a healthier person for having chickens in my life. My compost is healthier, my gardens are healthier, and myself and my dog can attest to the benefits of the eggs.

I haven't yet gotten myself to the point where I have been able to process the calcium for supplementation, but it is nice to know it is available. As we age we decline in calcium and the Vitamin D it takes to absorb the calcium; I am still climbing that hill.

My insect problems, although exist, are not nearly as bad; it was even better when the hens could forage right up next to the house, but they became too great in number for all my little seedlings and are confined to the orchard.

OK, I guess if you are not convinced by now you give me no alternative but to offer another beautiful picture I took in my gardens. (season's past)

Have a wonderful peaceful garden,

Ron