We lost a chicken today

We lost a chick in the first week we believe to exposure. The chicks got vent gleet/pasty butt (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the digestive system is likely the root cause). We used probiotics to rectify this and gave the chickens a bath and dried them off. Chickens aren’t supposed to get wet similar to rabbits. It messes with their homeostasis (ability to maintain a balanced body temperature). It then died later from exposure (getting too hot or cold, in this case cold). So in trying to solve a problem we ran into another problem.

While the cause of the dead chicken today is unknown, given that the body had no external physical ailments it would have to be dietary or exposure. So it either ate something bad or got too cold somehow while the other chicks were fine.

A lot of people would write this off as “something that happens” ”not my fault” “pre existing condition” or “just a bad chicken”. When it comes to animal life I don’t write things off, I research and study and find reasons these things happen. I blame myself and carry around a lot of guilt. While this isn’t necessary to be a good or responsible farmer it is how I operate best. Eventually I find the root cause and solve it quickly to prevent further casualties. Yes losses happen, but most are preventable. I’m not just trying to build a sustainable lifestyle, I want an ethical operation and 0% mortality rate.

The purpose of this blog is not only to write about successes, but also our failures. There are 9 types of intelligence and then there is wisdom. Wisdom has to do with simplistic problem solving. In America we put a lot of value on IQ which is logic and mathematically based I think because it is the most problem solving based intelligence. Therefore it is the closest we come to wisdom without leaving the intelligence category. We post these failures to encourage you and to let you know if you mess up it’s not the end of the world and it won’t stop you from reaching your goals. Experience and failure are often our best teachers. “

A wise man learns from his mistakes, a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others

I hope you are able to learn from my mistakes and succeed.

Keeping chickens in suspended wire cages makes keeping them clean easier

Wisdom is equally as important as intelligence