New babies!

[minousbijoux]

This is so awesome! Thank God you're a chicken hoarder! It'll be fun watching this new chapter and will be interesting to see if you notice differences in mothering styles. I'll also be curious to know what Kevin thinks of this new action...

 

[soxfan]

I spent my whole day freezing my ass off, monitoring the situation. I thought it was fine....

I went out every hour on the hour today to make sure the chicks had what they needed since it was only 25 degrees here and they would be spending a lot of time under momma. Cold, yes, but with a loving momma, not a problem....

She seemed wonderful about teaching them to eat and drink. She ate and drank a lot herself, moving herself near the feeder and waterer. But I noticed when they chirped that they were cold, she did not lift up to let them under her breast like Kevin. I kept popping them under there all day, kind of showing her how to do it. Then I saw them wiggle under and thought we were good.

Left to drop my kids off at swim practice, went to the grocery store, picked up my daughters allergy meds. Checked in with Goldie and chicks. No problems. Left 20 minutes later to pick kids up.

Got home and heard the most god awful chick cries. Went into run, Goldie was gone- one chicks was paralyzed struggling to breathe in the cold sand of the run. The others were in the dog crate shivering and close to death.

We brought them inside and held them to our chests to warm them. I had the brinsea ecoglow heater on already all day in case Goldie sucked as a mother, so was able to set up a brooder in seconds.

The one that was paralyzed couldn't stand and would fall over if you tried to put her down I thought for sure she had a spinal injury and was making plans to cull her to put her out of her misery

We brought them inside, wrapped the one that I thought was for sure going to die in a towel my daughter held her blew warm air into the towel every 30 seconds. We shoved them under the heater and they stood under there with their eyes closed. I thought they would make it except for the one that couldn't stand.

Well, we took turns holding that baby that couldn't stand not knowing that she was LEANING for heat from our hands! Once she was able to stand, she joined her mates under the heater. I put vitamins and electrolytes in their water and gave them chick feed. They are ALL HEALTHY AND RECOVERED!!!!!!!!! We saved them. I feel awful. I never envisioned this happening after spending a whole freezing day out there. Goldie abandoned them and went into the coop. She will not be trusted to raise again, she is NO Kevin.

Kevin actually heard the chicks this morning and tried to take over. I let Goldie have her turn. No more. Kevin is one of a kind. I'm so glad we were able to save them. Now they live in my house for the next month.

 

[soxfan]

They are healthy. Happy. And going to live in my kitchen for the next week! They are chortling with joy

 

[tyty333]

Oh my gosh! I was holding my breath as I read your post ...I thought for sure that one was not going to make it in the end.

Goldie...what got into you???

What are the chances that Kevin would take them on? Is she not broody? I kind of want them to stay safe in the house but I love how
Kevin mothered the chicks and taught them everything they needed to know. Kevin spoiled us!

 

[soxfan]

Oh my gosh! I was holding my breath as I read your post ...I thought for sure that one was not going to make it in the end.

Goldie...what got into you???

What are the chances that Kevin would take them on? Is she not broody? I kind of want them to stay safe in the house but I love how
Kevin mothered the chicks and taught them everything they needed to know. Kevin spoiled us!

"

Kevin is that ONE hen you need to raise chicks. She just stressed her body to the max not long ago, so I am going to raise them. They will be lap chickens if I do that. It will be better all around. That dumbass Goldie is BACK in the nest box in the coop trying to sit on eggs. NOT a good setter or a broody. Lesson learned.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

OH MY WHO KNEW??! Your account was riveting...thankful for your care cuz you're such a good Mama.

cheers--Sharon

 

[missy]

They are healthy. Happy. And going to live in my kitchen for the next week! They are chortling with joy

Soxfan, Thank goodness they are all OK. The tears were coming out of my eyes as I was reading your post and my heart was in my mouth. My heart is beating so fast right now. So glad you saved them and I'm with Sharon. You are a good mama. (((Hugs))) to you and the chicks.

 

[soxfan]

They are all alive, well, and feisty this morning. Eating and drinking and trying to escape the brooder hubby made. I'll get them some toys later....

 

[stracci2000]

I can't believe Goldie blew it. Thank goodness you rescued them!
Do you think she knew they weren't her babies, so she ignored them?

 

[soxfan]

I can't believe Goldie blew it. Thank goodness you rescued them!
Do you think she knew they weren't her babies, so she ignored them?

No, she just sucks as a broody. She's out there now, eating and free ranging. Then sitting in cold sand clucking and puffing up. She has NO clue what the hell she is doing.

 

[Babyblue033]

Now you've done it, I'll be checking this thread everyday for chick updates now. They sure are adorable and I'm so glad they're safe and sound!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I am clicking for chick updates....

cheers--Sharon

 

[Babyblue033]

Me too me too! *Eagerly awaits*

 

[soxfan]

Out of the five, we still have three I am trying to get my thoughts together to write what happened. It's horrible.

 

[junebug17]

Soxfan, I'm sorry Share if and when you're ready, sending tons of hugs and comfort.

 

[soxfan]

My daughter has a "friend" that is not really a part of her life anymore. Let's call her "Sadie." My daughter is involved in a lot of activities and really doesn't have a lot of free time. When she does, she wants to spend time with other friends who are not jealous, possessive, and trouble- makers. The mom sent me a text yesterday asking if she had done something to offend me of if Sadie did something to offend my daughter. I felt bad and said "no, we were just busy." She asked if my daughter wanted to come over. I asked her and she said no. One time when my daughter was over there, they were playing near a pond in the spring, it was still cold. I just didn't feel comfortable leaving her there, but I told myself she needs to be a kid and I needed to stop helicoptering. Sure enough, she fell in the pond because the girl "tripped" and pushed her off a tree that was hanging over the pond. I stopped letting her go over there. This was at the mom's house, they recently got divorced. Dad asks me every year if my daughter can go to Martha's Vineyard with him and his daughter on vacation for a week. He's an alcoholic and I'd never leave my kid alone with him. I always have an excuse. So she doesn't go over there either.

Another time when I stopped by the mom's house with the kids, they were upstairs playing and I heard my son who is a couple years younger than the girls yell "Sadie stop! I said stop!" I thought they were rough-housing or whatever. On the way home, I get a text from the mom that reads "Sadie is really upset because your son was very rough with her." I asked my kids and my son said "Mom, she was sitting on my chest and wouldn't get off!" My daughter said that was true and that she was trying to get Sadie off of him because he couldn't breathe and was crying. I texted her that her daughter was full of shit and told her what really happened. She replied "ok thanks for letting me know." She lies, she's manipulative, and her parents think she can do no wrong. So that's some background. When she comes to my house she ignores my rules ie. eat at the table, take your shoes off, etc. My other friend doesn't allow her to come over to play with hers anymore because she doesn't follow the house rules either.

So yesterday I felt bad and asked my daughter if she wanted her to come over in the afternoon for a couple of hours. She reluctantly said ok. She comes over and all five of my chicks are fine. She is picking them up and doesn't really know what she's doing. My daughter shows her how to handle them. I tell them to only play with them if they are on the kitchen floor and sitting down. My daughter KNOWS this. I let them play with them while I changed the shavings in their brooder, then put them back. The next thing I know, the little black chick isn't eating and is very sleepy. I know sometimes chicks just die, it happens. I told them I had to go to Market Basket for 20 minutes, and to sit with the black chick on the wooden floor and just stay with her until she passed. At this point, she was just laying there. The girls are 12, her mother said she leaves her alone. I leave my kids alone for an hour here and there so didn't think anything of it. I told the girls NOT to play with the other chicks while I was gone.

I called once to check in and my daughter said the chick was about the same. I called back 10 minutes later and she was talking to me. All of a sudden I heard screaming and "Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" More screaming, someone yelled "hang up the phone!" I was screaming at my daughter to take me off speaker and talk to me. It was ****ing pandemonium and I thought they were being killed. I almost drove off the road. Then I heard my husband come home. I was racing home and my son face times me. Tells me that Sadie stepped on and killed a chick. I said "was it the sick one?" He said no, it was one of the other ones. I texted my husband and told him to bring Sadie home that I would not be coming home for a while so I could process this. He drove her home, she got out and he never went in to talk to her mom. I would have taken her in and told her what happened, yada yada. My daughter rode with her. I got home and talked to my son- my daughter had yelled at him not to come in the room so he wouldn't see.

My husband buried both chicks- he had to cull the black one because it wasn't dead yet.

When he finally told me what happened. He said the chick was smashed so badly my rug was bloody and my white couch had blood spray on it. She took out the chick she wasn't supposed to touch, put it on my sun room rug and stepped on it so hard it ended up on my couch and rug. It was "an accident" she said. My daughter was paying attention to the black one and Sadie said "come on, let's do something else" and my daughter said no, that she had to stay with the chick. That is when Sadie decided to get another chick to keep her occupied. Or to kill it to punish my daughter.

I 100% do not believe that this was an accident. I called my friend who doesn't have Sadie over anymore and her husband said "she did it on purpose to see what would happen, and I wouldn't be surprised if she squeezed the other one to death when you weren't looking. This was not an accident."

I feel the EXACT same way and there is NOTHING anyone can say to me to convince me otherwise. My daughter thinks it was an accident and I will let her believe that because that's best. I will never allow this kid in my house again and my daughter will never see her outside of school again. She needs help and her parents are too blind and ignorant to see it. I'm beside myself. I didn't sleep at all the night it happened. I'm still trying to work through it. I know it's just a chick, but I'm just so pissed and I know it was on purpose. And in the small chance it wasn't, she ignored me and took that baby chick out when I specifically asked her not to.

I'm rambling, that's all I've got for now.

 

[Cockatiel]

My daughter has a "friend" that is not really a part of her life anymore. Let's call her "Sadie." My daughter is involved in a lot of activities and really doesn't have a lot of free time. When she does, she wants to spend time with other friends who are not jealous, possessive, and trouble- makers. The mom sent me a text yesterday asking if she had done something to offend me of if Sadie did something to offend my daughter. I felt bad and said "no, we were just busy." She asked if my daughter wanted to come over. I asked her and she said no. One time when my daughter was over there, they were playing near a pond in the spring, it was still cold. I just didn't feel comfortable leaving her there, but I told myself she needs to be a kid and I needed to stop helicoptering. Sure enough, she fell in the pond because the girl "tripped" and pushed her off a tree that was hanging over the pond. I stopped letting her go over there. This was at the mom's house, they recently got divorced. Dad asks me every year if my daughter can go to Martha's Vineyard with him and his daughter on vacation for a week. He's an alcoholic and I'd never leave my kid alone with him. I always have an excuse. So she doesn't go over there either.

Another time when I stopped by the mom's house with the kids, they were upstairs playing and I heard my son who is a couple years younger than the girls yell "Sadie stop! I said stop!" I thought they were rough-housing or whatever. On the way home, I get a text from the mom that reads "Sadie is really upset because your son was very rough with her." I asked my kids and my son said "Mom, she was sitting on my chest and wouldn't get off!" My daughter said that was true and that she was trying to get Sadie off of him because he couldn't breathe and was crying. I texted her that her daughter was full of shit and told her what really happened. She replied "ok thanks for letting me know." She lies, she's manipulative, and her parents think she can do no wrong. So that's some background. When she comes to my house she ignores my rules ie. eat at the table, take your shoes off, etc. My other friend doesn't allow her to come over to play with hers anymore because she doesn't follow the house rules either.

So yesterday I felt bad and asked my daughter if she wanted her to come over in the afternoon for a couple of hours. She reluctantly said ok. She comes over and all five of my chicks are fine. She is picking them up and doesn't really know what she's doing. My daughter shows her how to handle them. I tell them to only play with them if they are on the kitchen floor and sitting down. My daughter KNOWS this. I let them play with them while I changed the shavings in their brooder, then put them back. The next thing I know, the little black chick isn't eating and is very sleepy. I know sometimes chicks just die, it happens. I told them I had to go to Market Basket for 20 minutes, and to sit with the black chick on the wooden floor and just stay with her until she passed. At this point, she was just laying there. The girls are 12, her mother said she leaves her alone. I leave my kids alone for an hour here and there so didn't think anything of it. I told the girls NOT to play with the other chicks while I was gone.

I called once to check in and my daughter said the chick was about the same. I called back 10 minutes later and she was talking to me. All of a sudden I heard screaming and "Oh my god! Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" More screaming, someone yelled "hang up the phone!" I was screaming at my daughter to take me off speaker and talk to me. It was ****ing pandemonium and I thought they were being killed. I almost drove off the road. Then I heard my husband come home. I was racing home and my son face times me. Tells me that Sadie stepped on and killed a chick. I said "was it the sick one?" He said no, it was one of the other ones. I texted my husband and told him to bring Sadie home that I would not be coming home for a while so I could process this. He drove her home, she got out and he never went in to talk to her mom. I would have taken her in and told her what happened, yada yada. My daughter rode with her. I got home and talked to my son- my daughter had yelled at him not to come in the room so he wouldn't see.

My husband buried both chicks- he had to cull the black one because it wasn't dead yet.

When he finally told me what happened. He said the chick was smashed so badly my rug was bloody and my white couch had blood spray on it. She took out the chick she wasn't supposed to touch, put it on my sun room rug and stepped on it so hard it ended up on my couch and rug. It was "an accident" she said. My daughter was paying attention to the black one and Sadie said "come on, let's do something else" and my daughter said no, that she had to stay with the chick. That is when Sadie decided to get another chick to keep her occupied. Or to kill it to punish my daughter.

I 100% do not believe that this was an accident. I called my friend who doesn't have Sadie over anymore and her husband said "she did it on purpose to see what would happen, and I wouldn't be surprised if she squeezed the other one to death when you weren't looking. This was not an accident."

I feel the EXACT same way and there is NOTHING anyone can say to me to convince me otherwise. My daughter thinks it was an accident and I will let her believe that because that's best. I will never allow this kid in my house again and my daughter will never see her outside of school again. She needs help and her parents are too blind and ignorant to see it. I'm beside myself. I didn't sleep at all the night it happened. I'm still trying to work through it. I know it's just a chick, but I'm just so pissed and I know it was on purpose. And in the small chance it wasn't, she ignored me and took that baby chick out when I specifically asked her not to.

I'm rambling, that's all I've got for now.

Omg Soxfan, that is so horrible and traumatic. I am very sorry. I had just finished reading your entire thread just yesterday and was marveling at your chickens and chicks and your love for them so much. It's so horrid that the chick was killed like that (I don't believe it was an accident at all either). You probably know this but from what you are describing that Sadie sounds like a sociopath. Frankly I am very glad she didn't kill more chicks or harm your children for that matter. From now could you please eradicate her 100% from your family's lives entirely. You can never be too cautious when dealing with sociopaths. I hope you and your children feel OK soon.....sending hugs.

 

[WhitePeonia]

Dear Soxfan,
I am sending you comforting thoughts: I am so sorry for what you had to go through!
This is heartbreaking. You and your family really did not deserve this (and you are absolutely right in wanting to protect your daughter).
Big hugs

 

[tyty333]

Oh soxfan...I am so sorry...so, so sorry. How traumatic for you and your kids. I'm just sick.

I know there are kids like that...my SIL had a child to their house that killed my nieces hamster. I would have a hard time not calling that mom and letting
her have it (full dump). Probably not the right thing to do but I'm not sure if I could help myself. That kid has serious problems (hurting things that
other people love).

I just feel so bad...

 

[oneam]

WTF, that kid's a monster. So sorry this happened.

 

[sarahb]

Wow, have been lurking on this thread, but could not stay in lurk-mode with your most recent update Sox--what a tragedy. I am so sorry you & your family had to experience this. Isn't animal cruelty one of the signs of a disturbed mind? I'd stay completely away from that girl & her family. Your chickens are members of your family for goodness sake! I also think she did it on purpose, how awful. Hugs to all of you...

 

[stracci2000]

This is just horrifiying.
What is wrong with this girl? I am so sad.

 

[soxfan]

Oh soxfan...I am so sorry...so, so sorry. How traumatic for you and your kids. I'm just sick.

I know there are kids like that...my SIL had a child to their house that killed my nieces hamster. I would have a hard time not calling that mom and letting
her have it (full dump). Probably not the right thing to do but I'm not sure if I could help myself. That kid has serious problems (hurting things that
other people love).

I just feel so bad...

I know. But her mother would NEVER believe it wasn't an accident. Ever. It sucks

Thank you so much everyone for all the support. I'll be interested to hear from my daughter how school went today....

 

[junebug17]

Omg soxfan I'm so sorry, such a horrible thing Definitely a good idea to steer clear of this girl and her family from now on.

 

[Rfisher]

That's incredibly awful. "I'm sorry" is such a small statement- but that's all I have.
You handled this much better than I would have.
Explaining it to your son the way you did and letting your daughter come to her own conclusion on this girl is 100% on point right. Your daughter knows.

I selfishly hope you can/will continue updating us on your chicks/chickens in the future when you feel the time is right.

Edited to add-
I would be angry enough to have snapped a picture of the gory aftermath to send to both parents. That in itself proves it wasn't a simple accidental step on the poor chick. Unless this girl is full grown big man huge- she had quite the momentum whilst coming down.

 

[baby nurse]

The girl is a monster. We have chickens and have had many chicks in the house. We currently have a baby rooster (though referring to him as a baby at this point is a bit of a stretch). I can’t imagine something like that happening to one of my chicks.
That girl will continue to do things like this until the day she does something so bad her mother will have no choice but to deal with it. She (the mother) is doing her no favors keeping her head buried in the sand.
I hope you can block this out of your mind and enjoy your 3 thriving babies. A chicken family is unique and precious.

 

[lissyflo]

I completely agree with others that you all need to stay away from the girl - harsh as it is to say, only a disturbed child could do something like that, as it doesn’t sound likely to have been accidental.

I would be strongly tempted to speak to the mum, under the guise of checking if her daughter is ok, to see if she can get her daughter’s explanation of what happened. At absolute best case, her daughter ignored your instruction to leave the chicks alone while you were out. At worst case, her daughter has exhibited profoundly concerning and disturbed behaviour. Even if the mum’s not ready to consciously take that on board yet, something must surely start to click in her mind if the explanation doesn’t make sense?

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I am mortified! I can only imagine how you all feel! I am heartbroken for the trauma you and your family have experienced. I wish I knew what to say and how to help you. Healing vibes across the miles.

kind regards--Sharon

 

[soxfan]

So the chicken that died of natural causes (another one died today) and the one little psycho killed were the same breed, light brahma. I went to the feed store and they told me to pick 2 new chicks of another breed, as they got a "bad batch." They encountered cold weather during shipping and almost all had died. That makes me feel a bit better, as she probably would have died anyway.

 

[soxfan]

I completely agree with others that you all need to stay away from the girl - harsh as it is to say, only a disturbed child could do something like that, as it doesn’t sound likely to have been accidental.

I would be strongly tempted to speak to the mum, under the guise of checking if her daughter is ok, to see if she can get her daughter’s explanation of what happened. At absolute best case, her daughter ignored your instruction to leave the chicks alone while you were out. At worst case, her daughter has exhibited profoundly concerning and disturbed behaviour. Even if the mum’s not ready to consciously take that on board yet, something must surely start to click in her mind if the explanation doesn’t make sense?

I can't even fake being concerned about her kids feelings. Maybe some day down the road, but I just can't do it right now.