The day you bring home a tiny fur baby or a fuzzy-feathered friend you don’t think about the day it all comes to an end. You’re having so much fun with your pet companions you don’t realize how much time has gone by until you start to notice something isn’t quiet right. Then you go into overdrive to find a solution.
It is with a heavy heart that we had to say goodbye to three of our beloved pets within two months. It’s so hard to lose one pet, but I can’t even express how hard it was to lose three despite all of my efforts to save them. Two of the pets were my sweet chickens, ”Skippy” and “Sprinkles”. I know what you must be thinking , it’s just a chicken, right? When we brought those little peeps home for my son’s egg business I had no idea you could bond with a chicken.
This is what I have learned about chickens…
Chickens form bonds with their human caretakers, seeing them as friends, playmates, protectors, and members of the flock.
This is how they show affection:
- Chickens may follow you around and even come to you when you call their name.
- Chickens love being close to flock members and consider you as one the group and even cuddle with you. Just as dogs are devoted and loyal, chickens show affection by following you around. I have read you can even scratch them behind their ears. I haven’t tried this one yet.
- Chickens may scream when they see someone they love. They also coo when they are near someone they love. I have experienced them both.
- Chickens will sit on your lap, fly on your shoulder, and seek you out beyond wanting food and water.
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it for myself. For me personally, they quickly became much more than just livestock, they are a part of my family. Chickens are definitely more dog-like than I could have ever imagined and losing them is like losing any pet you choose to open your heart to. It is just as heartbreaking.
Fun Chickens Resources:
https://www.coopcratechickens.com/5-ways-your-chickens-are-saying-i-love-you
https://run-chicken.com/do-my-chickens-like-me-the-most-common-ways-chickens-show-affection-to-humans
I hadn’t realized that 6 years have passed since we brought these sweet birds home. We lost “Skippy” April 29th and almost two weeks later we lost “Sprinkles”. One of my girls is still mourning her friend “Skippy”. They were inseparable. She still looks for her in the coop. She checks all the nesting boxes before getting on the roosting bar. I’m trying to give her extra attention. Hopefully she will bond with another flock member.
Here are some helpful resources from some wonderful people who reached out to me, when I contacted them about my beloved chickens.
Rhonda Clark – The Farmers Lamp
Shelby DeVore – Garden Farm Thrive
After losing “Sprinkles”, my son had to make the hard decision to put his cat, “Andy” down. Andy was a trooper. He had survived two cancer tumors. He fought every step of the way so much so that I decided to try some holistic nutrients to improve his quality of life. It seemed to help with seizures and mobility but unfortunately the cancer won. Had we started sooner maybe it would have kept the cancer in remission but it was one of those life lessons you learn in hindsight.
I am a firm believer in “prevention is better than a cure” and if you know the right nutrients the body can heal itself. Each individual is different and we learn most through experience, though sometimes it’s a harsh reality when it does not work out the way we had hoped.
I do take it hard when I lose my animal companions. I always feel like I could have done more, but I have been told many times its impossible to know everything. I have to tell myself with each experience I learn new things that will hopefully make me better prepared and help me make the best decisions for my animals.
Going through this trial prompted me to reach out to experienced chicken owners. I want to share with you their web sites. Hopefully this will help others as much as it helped me.
When your pets experience cancer its just as painful as it is when a person you care about experiences it. Through this experience I have learned about a few pet supplement companies that have nutrients for animals with cancer. Not always, but there have been incidents when animals have beat cancer just like people have when given the right nutrients if it is caught early enough. Plus these nutrients can serve as a prevention from getting cancer in the first place (in my opinion).
The following are places I will definitely be shopping in the future in regards to pet health:
- NHV Natural Pet Products
- RX Vitamins for pets
- Adored Beast Apothecary
- Dr. Judy Morgan
- Wholistic Pet Organics
- Fucopia
- Pet Health and Nutrition Center
The purpose of this blog is to help others through my experiences good and bad. All we can do is our best.
Until next time…
2 responses to “Feather-n-Fur Heartfelt Farewell”
We’ve had 5 cats through our 49 years together. They all became sick, and we had to have them put down. It seems the older we were the harder it became. My husband said we were too old to have more pets because they would outlive us, and it would be hard on them. I really think he didn’t want to go through another pet’s death. That decision was taken out of our hands when he got cancer, had a transplant and has no immunity. We can’t have pet’s now. Sigh. I miss our fur babies.
I’m so sorry I missed this when you sent it. It is so hard to lose our pets because they are part of the family. I have never done well when tough decisions have to be made. You know it will happen one day but you always put it in the back of your mind until it happens. For me there’s always guilt with each one because I always feel like I missed something that could have prevented them getting sick. They can’t tell us what’s hurting so I feel like I’m always scrambling. My daddy feels like he can’t get another dog because he’s afraid he will out live it. I know how hard of a decision that must be just from watching listening to my daddy. Good thing our pets will be in heaven. 🙂