Cheetah Chicks
Chirping
- May 28, 2022
- 71
- 71
- 91
Two years ago, my journey with chickens began when my ex-partner, a school teacher, got two chicks after hatching. Due to my diagnosed mental health issues, including primary insomnia, double depression, ADHD, and DID, I thought a rooster might help me wake up and build a routine. We lived in a flat, so we used to take the chicks out to the local park. However, when they were just two weeks old, one of the chicks scared a magpie, which retaliated by attacking the chick with another magpie, causing the chick to die of a heart attack.
I returned to the same farm and got another female chick, a black sex link. On the way, I also picked up three rare breed chicks, one of which was a bantam, assuming they would all be hens. However, they all turned out to be roosters, leaving me with four roosters and one hen.
I continued to take them out to parks and on road trips. One day, while they were roaming in a forest reserve, an older couple unleashed their dog on my chickens for fun. One of the bantam roosters hid in the bushes and was never found, despite searching for three days and nights. I then went back to the breeder and got another hen and a bantam rooster, bringing my total to five roosters and two hens.
I also got a cat who grew up with the chickens. We moved to a house with a garden, but I couldn't afford a chicken run, so I used a 3x3 cage in the garden. It was difficult to house all the chickens together because the lead rooster would peck the feathers off the other roosters if they got near his hen.
While my partner continued working at the school, I stayed home to look after the chickens. One day, a fox attacked one of my hens. Although I intervened, the hen died of a heart attack. I incubated her egg and got two hens and two roosters, bringing my count to three hens and five roosters. Around this time, my partner got a female kitten.
After a few months, my partner and I separated, leaving me alone with the chickens and two cats. Later, one hen jumped over the fence to escape an aggressive rooster and was lost. And, when I used to go out ,leave the kitchen door open so all of them can come inside and hang around until I return but one day fox came inside the kitchen and one of my cockerel fought with the fox and chase them away but his neck was broken . He managed to walk to the place where he dust bath with hanging neck and died there. I cried like hell. So I incubated her sister anegg and got two more roosters.
Now, I had two hens and six roosters. One of the hens died due to an attack from an aggressive eight-month-old cockerel, resulting in another heart attack.
Finally, I am left with one hen, six roosters, and seven cats (including five kittens).
Every evening around 5 pm during the summer, my chickens, who sleep in the attic, come into the kitchen and start crowing, letting me know it's time for bed. They head upstairs and settle into their spots for the night. Yes, they sleep inside the house. It's the habit I and my ex developed because we didn't had coop for them and when we got one it was too small and then we separated.
I'm facing a dilemma. One of my roosters, the original one my ex got, is very attached to me. He doesn't care about the other chickens or typical chicken activities. Instead, he acts like my personal bodyguard, wanting to roost on my leg when I sit and follow me everywhere. If I let him inside the house, the other roosters get jealous and crow incessantly.
I need help managing my life. I don't have any friends or family, so I live entirely alone with my chickens and cats. My mental health is a struggle: I suffer from primary insomnia and rely on medicated melatonin to sleep, leaving me groggy in the morning. To get through the day, I have to take amphetamine tablets. When I go out, I leave the kitchen door open so the chickens can come inside if a fox shows up, but instead, they just wait for me to return.
Am I crazy? Whenever one of my chickens dies, I cry until my eyes are swollen. I've tried giving away a few roosters, but the thought of them being treated like commodities haunts me. I desperately need advice and support from the experienced parents.
I returned to the same farm and got another female chick, a black sex link. On the way, I also picked up three rare breed chicks, one of which was a bantam, assuming they would all be hens. However, they all turned out to be roosters, leaving me with four roosters and one hen.
I continued to take them out to parks and on road trips. One day, while they were roaming in a forest reserve, an older couple unleashed their dog on my chickens for fun. One of the bantam roosters hid in the bushes and was never found, despite searching for three days and nights. I then went back to the breeder and got another hen and a bantam rooster, bringing my total to five roosters and two hens.
I also got a cat who grew up with the chickens. We moved to a house with a garden, but I couldn't afford a chicken run, so I used a 3x3 cage in the garden. It was difficult to house all the chickens together because the lead rooster would peck the feathers off the other roosters if they got near his hen.
While my partner continued working at the school, I stayed home to look after the chickens. One day, a fox attacked one of my hens. Although I intervened, the hen died of a heart attack. I incubated her egg and got two hens and two roosters, bringing my count to three hens and five roosters. Around this time, my partner got a female kitten.
After a few months, my partner and I separated, leaving me alone with the chickens and two cats. Later, one hen jumped over the fence to escape an aggressive rooster and was lost. And, when I used to go out ,leave the kitchen door open so all of them can come inside and hang around until I return but one day fox came inside the kitchen and one of my cockerel fought with the fox and chase them away but his neck was broken . He managed to walk to the place where he dust bath with hanging neck and died there. I cried like hell. So I incubated her sister anegg and got two more roosters.
Now, I had two hens and six roosters. One of the hens died due to an attack from an aggressive eight-month-old cockerel, resulting in another heart attack.
Finally, I am left with one hen, six roosters, and seven cats (including five kittens).
Every evening around 5 pm during the summer, my chickens, who sleep in the attic, come into the kitchen and start crowing, letting me know it's time for bed. They head upstairs and settle into their spots for the night. Yes, they sleep inside the house. It's the habit I and my ex developed because we didn't had coop for them and when we got one it was too small and then we separated.
I'm facing a dilemma. One of my roosters, the original one my ex got, is very attached to me. He doesn't care about the other chickens or typical chicken activities. Instead, he acts like my personal bodyguard, wanting to roost on my leg when I sit and follow me everywhere. If I let him inside the house, the other roosters get jealous and crow incessantly.
I need help managing my life. I don't have any friends or family, so I live entirely alone with my chickens and cats. My mental health is a struggle: I suffer from primary insomnia and rely on medicated melatonin to sleep, leaving me groggy in the morning. To get through the day, I have to take amphetamine tablets. When I go out, I leave the kitchen door open so the chickens can come inside if a fox shows up, but instead, they just wait for me to return.
Am I crazy? Whenever one of my chickens dies, I cry until my eyes are swollen. I've tried giving away a few roosters, but the thought of them being treated like commodities haunts me. I desperately need advice and support from the experienced parents.
