03/23/2026
I think sometimes we as breeders get too caught up in the politics of it all. Arguing over breeding practices, shipping methods and genetic opinions.
We lose sight of why we started doing this in the first place. The love of our animals. Today I lost one of my boys. He wasn’t a main breeder, he wasn’t fancy stock. He was just a primary fixture in my yard that I loved too much to rehome.
I noticed a week ago he wasn’t feeling well. I brought him inside and fought tooth and nail trying everything I had at my disposal to save him. Ultimately it wasn’t enough. Either that be a lack of my skill or an inevitable fate I won’t ever know.
But he was loved. He was so loved. I held him as he died. Sang to him. Kept him on a heated blanket so he didn’t go cold. I watched him close his eyes and now as I write this I am sobbing.
I’ve seen a lot of discussion lately about the opinion of being okay losing birds. Let me be clear. I will NEVER be okay losing my birds. Do I accept it as in inevitable consequence of raising animals? Yes of course. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be negligent and not fight tooth and nail to prevent it from happening every single time.
The second we stop caring we stop seeing our animals as living, breathing things and we start seeing them as dollar signs. My animals lives aren’t for me to capitalize off of. I lose a lot more money doing this than I will ever make. A loss of passion due to capitalization, will never breed innovation to improve the genetics of our animals. Then we might as well as kin ourselves to be no less than puppy mills.