You know how kids ask for a pet and you say “you have a pet, you have a fish…” And they say “But I want a REAL pet, one I can touch.” Remember that day? Stick with that thought! I know I sound awful, but once they get to touch and pet and feed the animal, it is sooo much harder when they die. (now don’t get me wrong…death is a part of life, and not something to shelter kids from…but let me tell my story) (and I am crying while writing this, so I bear with me)
It was 3 months ago when Bug was told she could order chickens and keep them at a friends house. A very generous friend, who not only was purchasing the chickens and food, was also going to care for them as she knew Bug couldn’t come over every day! Bug spent a day researching chickens. She made a chart with the help of her Aunt Sally, noting all the qualities she wanted her chickens to have. She looked not only at size and color, but also personality and egg production! She was allowed to chose 2 chickens, she decided on a Buff Orphinton and a Barred Rock. Phew! We thought that part was hard!
June 8th, after waiting two months, her chickens arrived. We drove her over to meet “Penny” and “Charlotte” and when we got there we were thrilled to see they had given her two Barred Rock (after only ordering 1) so we also got to meet “Lucky.” Lucky seemed to not be as developed as the other chicks, but seemed to be getting along. Bug was over for a few hours, playing not only with her chicks, but ALL 21 of them!
The next morning, Tim got a heartbreaking email from our friend. The night before 9 of the chicks had drowned! Which included all three of Bugs chicks! Friend immediately placed another order to replace the chicks that drowned, they would be in June 22. Bug did ok with it, she was very disappointed, she had waited a long time for her chicks, but she was mainly sad that an animal had died. (or in this case 9)
June 22 arrives. Bug gets driven over to meet the chickens. The surving chickens from the first batch have grown quite a bit. Not so cute anymore, but getting along well. Bug has three new chicks. We now meet Midnight, Twilight and Honeysuckle. She spent the entire next day with her friend and the chicks. As the friend also has new chicks, they play with chickens all day.
The next day around dinner Tim got a phone call. Midnight was found in the water dish under all the other chickens, she was still alive, but soaking wet and not doing too well. We drove Bug over, she dried the chick, she sang to the chick, she fed the chick water from a medicine dropper…she would cheep a bit and flap it’s wing every now and then, but it couldn’t walk.
We were getting ready to leave their house around 11pm that night, when the mom suggested Bug just sleep over…she knew the chick wouldn’t make it through the night. So the girls slept on the kitchen floor with the chicken. Bug woke up in the middle of night and it had died…then, the next morning it started all over again. Twilight was knocked into the water and soaking wet…and after a few hour she died too. Now I know you are going “get rid of the water!!!” That is just it, they are using a 2in diameter saucer with barely any water, and they aren’t leaving the chicks alone with it…they just get trampled and stuck. So now both her Barred Rock chicks died yesterday. When I went to pick her up, she totally broke down. I wish I had been there with her when it happened, but I wasn’t. She had her friend with her who hugged her and was doing everything possible to help her feel better. It’s just so much harder as they get older. Her fish died all the time and she was sad, but not heart broken. She never held it, or fed it from her hand, or had it pecking at the mole in her finger. She had never seen something living one moment and dead beside her the next. I know, all life lessons and experiences she would have someday…but why today…or even tomorrow. Why not when she is MUCH older?
So that is why I say $#%^ (dang) chickens, and stick to having just fish for pets.