It's with a heavy heart that I write this post.
Seven days ago, I lost my beloved incubator chick. She was just three days shy of her third-month birthday. Her life was cut short by a cobra bite.
The feeling of devastation is profound. For the last four months, I have poured effort, hope, and care into raising her. From the delicate incubation process to the first cheeps, and watching her grow into a healthy young hen... it feels like all that work has come to naught. The frustration and disappointment are a lot to bear.
We have had cobras slithered through our compound before, but they have never bothered my chickens. I can only piece together what likely happened: a rat sneaked into the confined area around the chicken house. A cobra, in pursuit of its prey, must have found its way in, became trapped, and in a panic, struck at the closest target - my chick.
It's a stark reminder that sometimes, things are going too well. Just before this tragedy, everything was (almost) perfect. The incubator hen and her younger siblings were getting along beautifully after I introduced and placed them together on October 17th. There was no fighting, just a happy, feathered family. The next stage was also going smoothly - I had introduced them to two roosters, but separated by a cage, and everyone was coexisting peacefully.
My mistake was a critical one: My enclosure focused entirely on preventing the chickens from getting out, and I ignored what could possibly get in. I failed to predator-proof the space, and now I'm paying the price for that oversight with a deep sense of loss.
In the wake of this, I have had to make some changes. The remaining young hen is now with the two roosters, full-time, without any barriers. While she seems a bit scared and spends a lot of time inside the cage, they are getting along fine. For now, all the chickens are safe within the outer caged area until I can implement stronger security measures. They aren't free-ranging yet, and that's for the best.
And yet, life has a way of moving forward, offering a thread of hope. The mother hen has started laying again over the last couple of days. I have been busy collecting her new eggs and storing them carefully in my cold box. It's a bittersweet rhythm, but a comforting one.
I will be busy, busy, busy over the next few weeks. The cycle begins again, but this time, with a hard-won lesson etched into my heart.
Buy chicken cage from Amazon.com
(Note: An Amazon.com affiliate link)
0 comments:
Post a Comment