RE: Reflection: Death on the Farmstead
It is so hard to deal with death in any form but the animal kind, especially when it is one that you feel is so dependent on you is very tough. I have had it happen more than a few times with my birds. Helping a late chick hatch from an egg, the elation that I have managed to save it, it lives for a few days and then you lose it with really on reason as to why . (Poor Gobbles our little quail just did this to me a few weeks back and made our Poor chi Monty so sad, but he has new friends now).
I have always had animals and so dealt with animal death early on. Often we can console ourselves to think that Nature is often wiser than we and there might very well have been something wrong with your little guy down the road that might have lead to a more troubled life for him and it was Nature's way of letting him pass quietly. We can't ever know for sure, but it's not easy that is for certain.
I try to think on the “Nature knows best” route but it’s so hard sometimes! I often wonder, “why did this happen to me? My first livestock animal, not even barely two months into this life, tainting my experience, why?” I know there’s no good answer to that. But I think that’s the hardest part of a situation such as this.
As you said in your post recently, you are closer to animals than humans, as am I. That made this seem even more difficult. I think because of this situation, maybe, I’m not as attached to the fowl - thank goodness! I’ve had to make the choice to cull a couple chicks we hatched - but it didn’t effect me too much because it wasn’t at my hand. I’m thankful to have people in my life that can distance themselves emotionally to help me deal with such things.