2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Mr Rhode Island Red]

Back from the family holiday.

While waiting at the train station this morning I was reading a part in a recent chicken magazine titled "And then there were six" Right after I finished reading it, I got a call from my neighbour who was looking after my hens to tell me that one had died (Eerily bringing my amount of hens down to six). I was expecting this as she had got sour crop before I left.

 

The rest of the family were looking forward to the holiday and I could have hardly cancelled the holiday to have stayed at home to nurse her. To make matters worse, the neighbour I put looking after them had no experience with chickens...or farming...or animals in general. He knew how to feed them and water them and close the house at night and collect eggs and that was about it.

 

She got the sour crop two days before we left and I did everything in my power and knowledge to nurse her back and I had her greatly improved by the time I left. I hoped that she would have stayed well enough until I got back, but, unfortunately, no.

 

I feel like her death was my fault, and to be honest, it was. If I had stayed at home to look after the sour crop she would have lived.

 

I now truly feel guilt

[migsy]

It is not your fault. You did what you could. Cancelling the family holiday for a chicken would have been absolutely ludicrous.

[Luvachicken]

Aww, how sad, but don't feel guilty. You did what you could in the time that you had before you went on holiday.

Sadly these things happen but don't blame yourself.

Sending hugs xx

[jrsankanu]

sorry x i know sour crop is very time consuming to treat though i had maisy in the house for 2 weeks whilst she recovered i had to make her sick constantly in the hope to bring back the obstruction which she did eventually. your hen may not have made it even if you did stay home. I'm sure she's happy now x

[chick wiggle]

Absolutely agree with Migsy, you did all you could, none of us could have done more and certainly not cancelled a family holiday! Im so sorry for your loss but please dont blame yourself.

[jackian]

I am sure you are not alone in feeling you are to blame..It has happened to many of us.

Now I really am to blame ,a few months ago one of my girls was FR and trying to get in the back door .I quickly shut the door and broke her leg It could not be mended and poor Eva was in terrible pain she was PTS .I now have a child gate up at my back door and the other girls stand there and chat to me but I have never forgiven my self.

You may not have been able to save her any way and she is not suffering .

[Cheeky Chooky]

Very sad but don't blame yourself. As has already been said, to cancel a family holiday so that you could stay home to look after her would have been crazy...as much as we all adore our girls, we do have to remember that they're chickens and they can be quite delicate creatures *hug*

[Mrs_B]

A very sad story to hear Please don't blame yourself - easy for a lot of people to say, but it's true.

 

I just wanted to echo everyone's words - you did what you had to do with going on holiday and this was not the wrong decision, you did the right thing. Again, please don't let this affect you so you are blaming yourself for a long time.

 

Keep strong!

 

x

[poppers77]

I can only echo what everyone else has said and give you a big hug. We have all had instances where we wish if only I had done that. I've stood on my hens & we even lost one the first weekend we ever went away. We have to have time away & just like humans this is so often when things happen.

Take care x

[Space Chick]

Its not your fault at all

 

Even if you had have been home, she could still have gone.

 

I have had hens with sour crop, sometimes they just don't make it regardless of what you do. Hens are often very good at hiding illness as you know.

[Redwing]

I dont think anyone would have expected you to cancel the holiday however I do think it would have been a good idea to find someone to nurse the hen while you were away or have it PTS. I am sorry I may be in the minority but leaving it to suffer while you went on holiday probably wasnt a good move, it would have died slowly

[scarlettohara]

I have to agree with Redwing sorry I was quite ill earlier this year and a couple of my girls were too, I couldn't look after them properly (I couldn't look after myself either) but I took them to the vet and had them pts. I feel incredibly guilty but they didn't suffer. Don't beat yourself up though.

[Alis girls]

I have shut the cat in the door a couple of times and trod on tails left out for that purpose. The ensuing screech from me and the cat had to be seen to be believed. If I cancelled holiday for the hens - OH as much as he loves me might divorce me. You have nothing to beat yourself up about esp as she had taken a turn for the better. Sadly they are delicate creatures.

[Ziggy]

I agree with everyone who said you aren't to blame. We've got countless animals, and it does happen that one or the other gets ill before we on a family trip or holiday. In fact it's happening right now, one of our guinea pigs has a tumour which hasn't so far given her much trouble at all apart from just being there on her body, and the tumour is now growing and we're going to be off to China for three weeks. We've had a lizard developing an illness before another trip and it died while we were away. We have someone staying in our house when we leave, and the animals aren't left on their own, there is someone staying here and briefed about the condition and how to keep the animal comfortable. I understand where people come from saying they'd prefer an animal put to sleep, but I don't want to make that decision unless things are really bad, and don't want to make that decision under the pressure of the holiday, especially as these are my daughter's pets and she wants to try all that she can to save them first, and as the're her pets I also respect her wishes. We have a hen that's had a tumour, and were recommended it might be advisable to put her to sleep, and well guess what that was a year ago and she's still doing fine with good quality of life. So I wouldnt make such a decision for a holiday, as it's always possible an animal will be ok after all. My housesitter keeps in touch and if things get too bad, can sort things for us. While we're on holiday they'll keep our guinea pig as comfy as possible, and when we return my daughter will be making decisions as to whether to opt for surgery or not...

You can't cancel a special family event every time a pet is unwell, it is unfair on the humans, especially when it might make no difference to the animal... Don't beat yourself up, you did all you could, and even finding someone with experience to look after your hen might not have been an easy option just before going away, there arent that many people experienced with chicken health issues out there!

[Mr Rhode Island Red]

I dont think anyone would have expected you to cancel the holiday however I do think it would have been a good idea to find someone to nurse the hen while you were away or have it PTS. I am sorry I may be in the minority but leaving it to suffer while you went on holiday probably wasnt a good move, it would have died slowly

 

I see your point, Redwing, (honestly, please try not to take this the wrong way), but when you live in rural Ireland, the vast majority of people don't see hens as valuable, and very few people have the required knowledge to look after hens (even many of the local vets, in my opinion), and most people will just say that "it is just one of those things" or "hens aren't as tough as they used to be". On the other hand, if an animal of significant monetary value (A ewe, cow etc.) even coughs, the vet is rang and it is considered a medical emergency.

 

As with many things these days, it's all about the money.

 

I really do want the best for my hens, but at such short notice, and with "Ooops, word censored!"ody (really) to turn to I just left her there. At the time we left, she didn't seem sick enough as to be PTS. And even if she was, I have this terrible, terrible habit of only putting an animal to sleep as a very last resort

[merlina]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

And we all make mistakes

And beat ourselves up for them: 'woulda, shoulda, coulda'

There's no point - ever

Blaming ourselves/anyone else is also futile - and a desperate waste of energy we could use somewhere else

All we can do is be honest with ourselves and learn whatever needs to be learned from the experience and then let it go

Sometimes easier said than done

But we are all imperfect

As long as we can say we did our best with whatever information/resources we had at the time, I don't think anyone can ask any more from us

[sadietoo]

Don't beat yourself up about this...as many others have said, there is no guarantee that she would have made it even if you had been there to nurse her

 

At the time we left, she didn't seem sick enough as to be PTS. And even if she was, I have this terrible, terrible habit of only putting an animal to sleep as a very last resort

 

That's not a bad habit...I struggle with euthanasia for animals too...while they are alive they have a chance...I made the decision to have Pansy pts, but still after all these months regret it, I didn't want her to suffer, but I don't think it's up to me to make the choice about when an animal goes...sorry I'm just not comfortable with it....she was stressed, I was stressed and it was all horrid...better i think to let nature take its course..after all , that's what we do for people right?