Sigh.
Lost our second chicken yesterday. It was Nudie Bum, the little guy I spent much time trying to help as a little fluff ball. He had issues with his vent. It wasn't formed quite right and he wasn't eliminating waste in the same way as the other chickens. For the longest time he seemed fine but this last week his comb turned a shade of purple and he often seemed to hang back from the others. We were all rooting for him but it wasn't to be.
I guess the things with deformities though is that if you see one on the outside there's likely more on the inside. Perhaps there was something going on with Nudie Bum that got worse as he grew and maybe judging from the purplish comb, it was his heart.
Harry took it a little hard. He wasn't really close to Nudie Bum but I think that the fact that that one little rooster had a name was a factor.
Lessons learned for next year?
- No names at all.
- Check the chicks the farm store gives us before taking them home.
- Cull, yes cull, any aberrant chicks to save us emotional investment and money on feed.
