Feeling rather discouraged... Need some words of wisdom... **LONG**

I have not been too active on the forums lately due to some unfortunate events that have taken place in the last week or so. As the title says, I am feeling rather discouraged about my livestock keeping hobby and I am totally stressed out!!

To start it all off, I had my only two foundation stock Argente Brun rabbits killed by a dog yesterday. These were to be the foundation of my own show line of rabbits that I hoped to campaign at shows in 2012 and also start a venture in meat rabbits. I sourced these rabbits from the US and it took a lot of effort, time, and money to get them imported into Canada. With my two does killed (actually I only found one body, the other is missing but I do not have high hopes of finding her alive), I am only left with one buck. These does were just coming up to breeding age and I was actually planning to breed them this week and plan for some September litters. *sigh* So, my Argente Brun breeding program is kaput... just like that. To be honest, I don't have the money or resources right now to purchase more show/breeding quality stock from the US so I'm not sure where that leaves me.

As far as chickens go, things have been frustrating. I am new to the hobby and I admit, I jumped in head first and maybe did bite off more than I could chew. I am a novice chicken keeper and perhaps I shouldn't have decided to start 'breeding' quite so soon. Anyways, at the beginning of the summer I had some very nice Black Copper Marans killed by a predator (possibly a racoon?) and so I had to restart that project all over again. (Talk about $$$!) And just recently I have been having some mysterious chick deaths and I have no idea what the cause is. I have lost a total of 12 chicks so far, that hatched from eggs I paid a pretty penny for. My birds are well fed and well cared for. Their pens are kept clean and I've been treating them like pets! So it is frustrating to see all the hard work and love go down the drain and walk into the pens and see dead chicks littering the floors. I'm sure many of you have experienced something similar in your years of keeping chickens but I feel incredible guilt as I have taken such care to give these chicks the best start in life.

I suppose this all wouldn't be so bad but I am returning to university in September and will be a full time student. That doesn't leave much time for me to have a job to make enough cash to support this rather expensive hobby. So I am starting to rethink things and would appreciate some insight from other hobbyists. I am considering putting the breeding of heritage breeds on the backburner and selling most of the chicks/chickens I have now. I am then thinking it may be better for me to simply make an order from McMurray or another hatchery of all the different breeds I want and order females. Then just keep a laying flock of some beautiful chickens and enjoy the hobby in that way... Then I could have the many variety breeds that I have always wanting without having to worry about restricting myself due to the grow out of chicks, breeding pens, etc.

I am simply at my wits end and although I still love my animals, I feel like I might be pulling my hair out soon if I don't make some changes quick! It is incredibly discouraging to see all that money, time, love, effort, sweat, and tears go down the drain and to not get anything in return... it's heartbreaking. So please, if anyone has any advice for me, please share. Whether it is some tough love or another point of view that I have not considered, let's hear it! For those that took the time to read this, thank you! It is nice to vent sometimes and my family and friends that are not 'chicken people' don't seem to understand.

It sounds like you have answered your own question. I think it is important to realize these animals will always be available and if you do not immerse yourself now, you can always do so when you are finished school and more settled.

I am sorry you have experienced the losses though.

Sue

Well, first of all you must stop feeling guilty for your losses. They happen to everyone, no matter how experienced or loving or caring we are. So many of us have lost precious livestock to predators and dogs, as well as to illness. The only thing you can do about that is find out why they died and how to help avoid that in the future.

Sometimes when those discouraging thing are all piling up at once we just want to throw our hands up and say ENOUGH ALREADY!! And there is nothing wrong with cutting back a bit or taking a break from the more expensive and heavier workload that comes with the breeding end of things. If you can still enjoy some beautiful chickens and find a better balance in your life, then you have the best of both worlds. Being a University student is a huge time investment as well as a mental and emotional strain on a person. But it may also allow you some time to do research on where to get new stock and read up on poultry info so that when you do have the time and resources, you can jump right in and feel very prepared and ready!
It sounds like you are very good at looking at things from every angle, so whatever you decide, I am sure it will be the right decision for you.

Very Good post KathyS
I am not good with words
so I would never be able to write something like that
all I do have to say is we all lose livestock of some kind and there is nothing we really can do about it except find out the reason for the illness and try to fix it and as for preditors we all have them
even here with the Best dogs working the nights and days we end up loseing some.
all a person can do is try to build a better Mouse trap as the saying goes
and being in school is a plus you can study and learn more
sorry not as well worded as the above post

Joe

Many of us keep poultry for pleasure and when the pleasure is gone, time to re-think. A temporary break from your animals is not leaving them out of your life forever. There is always another day.

I am puzzled and concerned about your high chick mortality. I would suggest something genetic, but usually a genetic problem kills them sooner rather than later.

Go to school knowing that your life holds many opportunities and shelving your animal project for now is just that, for now, not forever.

To see such a post, leads me to believe you are quite passionate about this, because it has affected you deeply enough to seek some sort of release.

With school approaching, and resources not there to replace the stock you have lost, I would maintain my focus on schooling, and in the spare time you have, look at every angle of why what went wrong, went wrong.

In your spare time, dogproof your rabbit hutches. Prepare for that time in the future, that you will have the $$ to pursue this passion of yours. Don't let it fizzle away.

My first run at chickens forced me to re-approach. I purchased three hens, as a start to my flock, almost at POL. A dog killed all 3.
I then built a predator proof henhouse, and run for the next chickens I would get. I made damn sure, nothing was going to ruin this experience for me. Once it was built, I got more chickens.

Research, and ask questions, as to why those chicks are dying. There will be an answer, and it may be simple.

Life is short, pursue your dreams and passions. There will be bad, just as there will be good. Learn from the bad and continue forward.

Hawthorne, I’m very sorry to read about how discouraged you’ve been feeling and about the losses you’ve suffered. I think it’s pretty safe to say we’ve all been there at different times in our lives to various degrees. It's tough though. Life is full of bumps in the road and sometimes we have to slow down to meet them, other times we have to stop completely and take a detour. Neither way is a wrong way, just a different way. After all, life is about the journey, not the destination.

I think your idea of downsizing to a pretty egg laying flock is a good one, especially since you’re about to return to school full time. Having an overfull plate for long time periods is no fun and can wear a person down real fast.

Anyway, I wish you well with your decision, whatever it may be. And remember, tomorrow’s another day.

Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful responses. It is really appreciated and it is nice to have a supportive community like WCPS to turn to in tough times. I've had some time to mull things over and I think I know what I need to do. I will be downsizing and selling most of the chickens I have now. I will only keep a few hens for myself and will possibly pick up a few more hens here and there to have a pretty laying flock to enjoy. Perhaps it was not the right time for me to take on such an endeavour as breeding heritage poultry, but I will continue to enjoy my chickens. I feel much better now that I have made this decision and feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders.

If any of you are looking for some nice pullets and cockerels let me know. I will be making a post on here shortly of the birds I have for sale. Big hugs to all of you, thank you for the support!! xx

I'm so glad you found your solution, and your peace. You can always come back to it in a bigger way when the time is right. All the best!

Aww hawthorne, sad to read this post. I know how you feel, some days are the same for me, but thankfully I have a lot of help. Most days I find the most amount of peace, joy and relaxation with my chickens. I love going to all the different pens, because each pen has something different to offer. I am happy that you will be able to keep some of your favourite hens. Do you think you might keep a rooster too? I always like having a rooster in my flock to help protect against predators. Maybe if you kept your best roo, it would keep the door open for you if things change by spring, then you could still have one breed to think about, without having too many hens. I think it's great you are choosing to keep your chickens you already have rather then buy from a hatchery - I don't care how you spin it, hatchery stock is not the same as breeder stock.

Hopefully we will still see you on here!

Briarwood, I do plan on keeping a few of my favourite roos. I still have 3 pens and hope to keep 1 roo in each pen. I also plan on collecting some Bantams now that I don't have to worry so much about breeding. I've always wanted some little bantams running around the yard

Also, the cause of the chick deaths has been found - COCCIDIOSIS. I wish I had put the pieces of the puzzle together sooner... Perhaps I was just not as observant as I should have been since I have been so busy these past few weeks. However, after walking into the coop and finding 2 more dead chicks this morning I knew something had to be done. I jumped onto the internet and did a google search and found a page on cocci in chicks. It seemed the symptoms all seemed to match up. The chicks seemed to be dying of starvation even though their feeders and waterers were kept clean and full at all times. Chicks seemed to appear weak at first and would sit fluffed up in corners. I would syringe them water with Poult-vite but that didn't seem to help. So after doing the research I rushed to the store and picked up some Sulmet and Virkon.

The entire day was spent cleaning out the entire coop top to bottom and disinfecting everything with Virkon. I then added fresh clean shavings and medicated their water. There was one chick that appeared weak and was not drinking/eating and I saw he had bloody poop. (The first time I had actually noticed this in the chicks so now I was confident that this was Cocci.) So I separated him from the others and he is now in a hospital brooder. I have syringed him the medicated water and it is amazing, he seems to be making a recovery already. He is much more alert and drinking a bit of water himself.

Anyways, this is a lesson learned for me. I am going to start feeding medicated chick starter (as I wasn't before) and be more careful with sanitation and keeping chicks indoors in their brooders for at least 1-2 weeks. I feel so stupid that it took me this long to figure this out after watching many chicks die but I am also relieved that I have found out what the cause is and I can now fix it. This has been my first experience with cocci or any type of poultry illness so perhaps I was being a bit naive. This has turned into another LONG post but just wanted to share my experience and here's hoping I don't lose anymore chicks.

Hawthorne, this was heart rendering to read your post, your sadness and frustration rang strong. Going back to school will be a big job in your life, so big, and this is something that you must focus on. You have made some decisions to keep a smaller flock of birds, and this is wise. Breeding birds is a huge deal, and it takes much time and effort. Maybe one day will come, when you have the time, money and energy to get into breeding, but for now, leave that to others. You can still get birds from these other breeders. That was really sad to hear about the loss of your does. Hope you can also figure out something to do with the buck. Keep that chin up, days will again become bright and happy, you will heal from the trauma. Yes, we have all been there with our losses in our lives of our critters, so most of us know quite close to how you are feeling. Focus on school. Enjoy the birds in smaller numbers when you come home from school. They have a way to release stress too in many ways. Have a beautiful day, CynthiaM.