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Posts: 3,540So now I'm all 
again, but in a good way. Its been helpful that others have had chicks that they adore just as much...and that would be so cool to have a chicken lay an egg right in your hand!!! 
The other hens keep looking at the empty nestbox, but seem to be adapting to having one less in the pen. I'm sure I've taken it harder than they have, but when I love, well, I tend to just love with all my heart 
Thank you all so much for your hugs and support :hug: It really means a lot to me :hug:
...edited to add, I've bawled myself silly over losing pet fish as well. They've got HUGE characters too, and you're right...they're every bit as important as a hamster, or any other species.
Chaska, MinnesotaDear Debbie: what a sad day you had...It horrible to loose a pet....Take care of yourself... :hug: :hug: :hug:
Debbie that was a very lovely, if really sad, story you shared. I'm so sorry for your loss but clearly this little hen will always have a warm spot tucked in your heart. Very sweet!
Newcastle, OntarioDebbie, I'm sorry about Broody - I'm sending a big :hug: !
When something touches us, whether it's large or small, furred or feathered, they always make our lives better, don't they. Take care.
hugs,
Brenda
I've bawled myself silly over losing pet fish as well. They've got HUGE characters too, and you're right...they're every bit as important as a hamster, or any other species.
Too right 
My mum couldn't understand me crying over one of my new fish jasper dying last week, because he'd only been at my house for a fortnight, but he was so lovely At least he didn't go in the pet shop!
My godfather had chickens, but a fox got them about a year ago sadly... one of the chicks was dying and he had it laid out all comfy in the airing cupboard to make it feel safe: we're all pretty soppy when it comes to our pets, no matter what they are
Posts: 3,540:hug: :hug:
I know just what you mean about the fish ..... You would have loved our store in Oregon, our pet mascot was a HUGE redtailed catfish named Hong Kong Charlie (Charlie for charlie catfish of course 
) and the Hong Kong bit because he had what I called 'Foo Man Chu' whiskers.
Charlie was truly a special fish from the get go ~ and my hubby picked him out at the wholesalers believe it or not! He simply would NOT be swayed when I informed him Charlie would easily reach 5 feet long, and set his foot down til he had his prize bagged and safely home.
Charlie quickly became a HUGE hit with our customers as he was so incredibly friendly! And Charlie grew, and grew, and ....well, I DID tell hubby "I told you so!" and Charlie moved to his very own 125 gallon tank...and was quickly outgrowing that. Charlie had an enormous character to match his size though. He thought that people were 'swimming' about in their own tank ~ and it took me quite a bit of duct tape to keep his butt in the tank where he belonged!
Those lovely fake plastic plants? Charlie loved them too! He'd grab them by the base, and then would 'run' with the plant streaming over the top of his body from one end of the tank to the other. I had two Biowheel filters on his tank and it was a sheer miracle that his exploring whiskers didn't snag. We kept waiting with baited breath for that explosion.
But one of the most fun things of all for Charlie was that he obviously needed a 'toy', so I took a plastic hamster ball, and filled it with colourful plastic rocks. As I sunk it the first day, I thought I'd better seal it, but then thought.....nah, he's got to quarter turn it before he can get the lid off. And the next day, the little monkey sat hovering over the top of the hamster ball, with the lid off! I promptly took his toy out, and used aquarium sealant to be sure that didn't happen again. Charlie ADORED his ball! He'd roll it up and down the tank.
Just as much as his ball, kids were an all time favorite for him, because they were 'his size'. They'd plaster their faces against the glass, and Charlie would 'frisk' them with his whiskers. It was so cool to see each and every time, and the kids really got a kick out of it.
Charlie ended up going back to the wholesalers when we had to close the shop, but Bob (who owns the place) is a close friend....and I know for a fact Charlie ended up in a VERY cool home! The guy who has him has his basement converted to these gigantic aquariums.
Told ya I get attached
Aww, Charlie sounds great! My fish were about 7 or 8 inches long when they died: both Black Moors. The first to go, Wobbly Fish, was taken out of his hospital tank by our slightly more feral cat, I'm sorry to say... I don't think he'd have lived much longer anyway, but it was dreadful... Then his 'brother', Bogglet died of Dropsy when I went home from University last holiday... really sad They were both so lovely...
So my mum decided to get three new fish in their absence, and we bought Carrot, Jasper and Harold (lol! I love my daft names...) three Lionheads with orange, black and blue markings Harold shocked me by instantly hovering up the snails I'd become accustomed to seeing in my tank: I had to move the rest to our smaller tank! Carrot was a bit of a gut bucket, and Jasper was like a weeny emo, with lipstick markings on him But he's passed away since I left home.... just two left now...
XD Gosh, I bet to non fish owners we look so sad! Ah well, we both know what it's like at least And it sounds like Charlie's living it up now! i always dreamed of having an aquarium study when i was little, but his tank sounds even cooler
Posts: 3,540LOL....goldfish are characters in their own right ....and my word can they put away food! They're amazing!!!
Sadly dropsy is such a harsh affliction, very, very hard to treat. In fact, professionally I would say not treatable, but I did find with a combination of tetracycline AND vitamin B tablets (both placed in the water), it cleared up the dropsy. I have to say, it was a last ditch effort for me, and the fish managed to pull through by some miracle.
Water quality and a huge filter is an absolute must with goldfish, though. Poor things really get the shaft being stuck in small tanks....and well, the really cool ones like the lionheads and fancytails, they tend to gobble food at the surface, inhale air, and then flip upside down for a bit! 
Its a little alarming (and bound to be uncomfortable for the fish) til the gas passes. Luckily they've created sinking type foods for these breeds.
Oh, I know what you mean, we've had aquariums off and on for a long, long time.....loads of work, but the fish are so soothing to watch. I think my all time favorite tank was a simple 20 gallon long aquarium full of 'dither' fish....meaning all they do is swim back and forth. Nothing utterly fancy, but extremely easy to care for.
What kind of shop was it? A fish shop?
I'd been working with Siamese Fighting Fish for a practical at my University in the term before my fish showed signs, so I recognised it... we thought the fish was too macho and cool to display at the albino one in the next tank, but actually the poor thing was ill... when i pointed it out to the demonstrators they looked at me as if to say what did I know, but when they saw the fish they soon wisked him away...
Luckily, when I went to buy my newbies, the shop had these peculiar pellets that 'stick' to the side of the tank: quite useful really! I usually give them bloodworms and peas too: Bogglet and Wobbly Fish used to love them!
Posts: 3,540LOL....they may love the bloodworms but go easy on the protein for a 'veggie' type fish I used to work years ago in a pet shop that had only tropical birds (handraised from domestic breeders) and tropical fish. By the time I left, I was up to taking care of 48 tanks. Then years later, hubby and I opened our own shop on the Oregon coast called Indoor Jungle. We specialized in tropical fish, small birds (only finches and canaries, and just a couple of soft bills), and very, very unusual indoor/house plants.
I didn't bother with full saltwater fish because they have a nasty habit of just dying as soon as you get them in, but we did brackish, fresh, cold water, and pond fish, as well as the tropicals....so the usual 'community' fish to South American and African cichlids, and a lot of oddball fish in between. And yep, we did have the siamese fighting fish too.
I'll never forget the boggled look when I refused to sell a red fighting fish to a woman ~ because it matched the decor of her livingroom. She looked disgusted when I mentioned the fish would need its little bowl cleaned weekly (meaning that the fish would end up dying shortly), so I point blank refused to sell! I even did that with people over plants. I figure its a living creature that needs care just as much as anything else. If they weren't ready for the responsibility, I wasn't going to sell
Unfortunately with dropsy, once you've seen it, its pretty recognizable... 
and usually the fish is a gonner.
Lol, well you sound a lot more responsible than the shops i went to: all the ones in my town had dead or obviously diseased fish in them! And the shopkeepers were just stood around whilst thier little bloated bodies got buffeted by the filters! It was so sad... i couldmn't hand money over to a diseased tank owner...
We went out of town, and I'm pleased to say the shop runners were very careful about my tank size, and checked that I'd be able to introduce three new fish at once. I'm not sure what my tank is, but i think it's 70 litres? Now there's only two, so it should be more than ok for them i think They're such peculiar looking things anyway, it takes them longer to get from one side to another XD
I remember a friend of mine had a pet chicken that would throw itself into the air to grab at bread held out at arms length, even as you were bringing it down to her level XD She was so comical, launching herself like a mini rocket of podge and feathers At my godfathers allotments there are chickens that look like 60's throw backs, with MASSIVELY FEATHERY legs, like mini flares: so funny! maybe when i have my own house, I'll get a chicken To tell the truth, I wouldn't mindf one of these: http://www.omlet.co.uk/homepage/homepage.php :D
I guess for us soft sods it's better to make sure the life is enough t make up for the death... doesn't make it any less sad though :(
PS, I love your bears! I'm a little frightened of fur, but it seems cheaper to get than mohair: how strange!
Posts: 1,836aww, Debbie I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Regardless of what type of animal, once you've cared for something it has a piece of your heart.
I understand the fish thing too!! I had a little 10 cent "feeder fish" from a party centerpiece come home with me once. He was with me for nearly 5 years!!! I was devastated when he finally said goodbye. He was really a smart and funny fish!!
:hug:
~Chrissi
Posts: 3,540:hug: Thanks for talking me through Broom's death yesterday and today...I do feel much better...and talking about the fish has helped me too.
As for how many fish for a tank....how long is a piece of string 
We used to say 'an inch of fish per gallon of water'....indicating the length of the fish measured from head to tail. Now that's going to be very different if you're talking about a school of ten neon tetras (which average roughly an inch each at adult size) versus a ten inch oscar! (A very chubby south american cichlid...whom I may add will get much larger)
Yes, the goldfish are hysterical to watch swimming...bless their little hearts! And Chrissi, you did amazingly well keeping your little goldfish alive :clap: Those poor things are so born behind the genetic eightball, its not even funny. BUT if you can get them to live, they can actually live a good 25 to 50 years. Yes, YEARS. And they are so full of character and life.
I would have loved to have seen that chicken launching for her bread 
I bet she just couldn't wait to get it!!! My girls favorite used to be romain lettuce....not regular iceberg lettuce, mind...has to be romain. Until the day I threw them a stale croissant Manna from Heaven! There was positively nothing left of it!!! They devoured the whole thing in no time flat! They don't get those very often, but yes, croissants are now definitely my girls ultimate favorite food
lol! French hens by any chance? XD They are welcome to the leftovers from my college breakfasts, but it's a bit far even for a hungry chicken! My pets all have strange loves... one of them LOVES quorn Lettuce I barely understand though, as I am more of a carb person: especially since I went veggie!
I think we all need a fellow pet appreciator at these times, rather than an 'it's an animal' person I've enjoyed talking about my fishes too, bless them! if I ever have any problems, I'll be sure to ask you And I, like pretty much EVERYONE on here (I've no doubt!) am always open to reminise Do you have any piccys of her?
Unfortunately I must now succumb to revision and eventual sleep... more tomorrow i hope!
Dream of Broom Night!
Paws In My GardenAwww that is terrible. That is really sad and I could cry and I didn't have to know your chicken. I have always wanted one of the chickens that have furry feet I call it. I don't know what kind they are but they are beautiful. I spend $100 a week to feed squirrels in my backyard all thru winter so I know the feeling. Everyone thinks I'm crazy too. ha ha. Big Big Hugs, It will be ok. My thoughts & prayers are with you,
Angela
DoodlebearsPoor you Debbie! I know just how hard it is to loose a pet. I send you many hugs and hope that you can soon feel a little better.
Hugs Jane.
:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Posts: 3,540LOL....I'm sure the girls would appreciate your breakfast 'leftovers'. They demand treats twice daily, and they must be different each time. Dare we say spoilt?
I love reminiscing about fish too, and its been a huge help for me that so many on here are pet lovers not....why are you upset? Its 'just an animal'.....yeah, well I could say that about some people I know too 
Knock on wood, none of the other girls are showing any affects whatsoever, so for whatever reason, it was just Broom's time. Only the good die young I suppose. But luckily none of them are distressed. The nestbox looks so empty without her there though.....
Thanks for the hugs, they've helped BIGTIME :hug:
Oh, and I'm not sure, but I think the fuzzy feet chickens might be 'cochins'. Sometimes I think the polish (silkies) have fuzzy feet too.
Posts: 3,540:hug: Thanks Ellen :hug: I'm truly grateful for the support 
Cochins, eh? I will add one to my christmas list XD Imagine the noises as you unwrapped it...
She obviously died happy, and lived her full life: not like a poor old battery hen or something... and she'll almost live longer, because she was a pet to you with a name, not 'Chicken E3546T' or something... do farmed chickens even get numbers?
Maybe a 'dedicated to Broom' bear would be nice Or maybe it would be too much of a memory... i guess people take it differently... I guarantee when my cat goes I'll need a huge amount of support so hopefully he'll live a little longer yet.
JeannieB BearsTruly sorry for your loss I have pet chickens, also......I know how you feel! :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
JeannieB
LuxembearsAwe Deb.... :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Sorry to hear about Bromhilde
Sending big hugs your way.
Hugs
Carolyn
:hug: :hug:
Lucky Penny BearsDebbie, I'm so sorry about your beautiful hen's passing, I really understand how bad you feel being a chicken lover myself. When I was a teenager we lived on a farm (chickens, goats, sheep, the occasional pig and neighbor's cow), I ADORED the Rhode Island Reds we had and used to carry one paticular hen into the house with me all the time (mom luckily thought it was cute). I unfortunatly can't have chickens where we live now (I'm lucky the DH lets me have my beloved pet rats...(he's not a rodent person )). When we retire to the country you can bet I'll have my 3 pet chickens that I've wanted ever since we got married and I left the farm (20 years ago!). Again, sorry to hear of her passing... :pray:
hi debbiie saw this the otherday while flying by and wanted to say im sorry you lost a lovely chook
do you have a picture of her?
i require to make another hen also and i wodnered if i might name it after boomhilde?
hugs
cat xxxx
I'm so sorry. Sending you many hugs. :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
