Hetty, our remaining chicken became ill yesterday morning. By yesterday evening she had passed away. Not sure what exactly was wrong with her, possibly perotinitis, possibly sour crop, possibly coccidiosis. She went downhill so fast that I was truly shocked at her death. The day before I had made a mental note to myself that her wings needed clipping as they were looking full again as she was stretching them out. She had come running out the hen house like a horse at the starting gate of a race, I had been about 20 minutes late in letting her out and she was raring to go!! How she is no longer with us is just difficult to fathom.
Hetty was such a character. Whilst the others would follow you around the garden, Hetty would make for the back door, knowing that if it were open there would be scraps on the kitchen floor for the picking. The time she investigated the rest of the downstairs and got flustered when I tried to shoo her out of the lounge! She was an escape artist extraordinaire, standing on the top of the eglu, jumping up and launching herself over the netting that was our attempt at keeping the chickens in one part of the garden (seeing a chicken flying up the garden at head height is quite a sight!!). She always had a bit of a wild look about her, feisty I think the word is! She was never happy being handled, and could give quite a vicious peck! In later years, her and Betty were inseperable, she is now laying at rest next to Betty at the bottom of the garden, in their favourite dust bathing spot.
We have decided to not have any more chickens for now, they need more space than we can happily give them (if we are wanting to use the garden too), but I have truly loved having them in the garden the last 3 years. I have loved knowing which chicken has given us the egg we are about to eat; I have loved being greeted when I open the back door; I have loved their eagerness when they see the saucepan, knowing there would be porridge; I have loved looking out of the kitchen window and watching their antics (I didn't realise how much I did this until today when I kept catching myself gazing out the window looking for chickens). An end of an era indeed, a journey I have enjoyed, and hope to repeat again at some point, but not right now. Rest in Peace Hetty (and Betty and Little). xxx
Oh Claire this is too sad :( What a lovely post and photographs. Hetty was a very lucky hen. The last photograph is so beautiful and so are your happy memories.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss. That's a very poignant footprint at the end.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, losing hens is so sad. Unfortunately its also an inevitable part of hen keeping. We decided to have a break when our last chicken died a year or so back, but in the end we missed having them too much! There are so many great things about having hens, the fresh eggs being an obvious plus, though them being dustbins for my kitchen scraps is what I missed the most! And also some not so great, (mine escaping in the summer and pooing on my doorstep is always a low point!!) I hope that the coming weeks ease the loss you are feeling and I am sure when you are ready again, one day in the future, you will enjoy keeping hens again x
ReplyDeleteso sad. Chickens are such characters. I love mine and i will be so sad when they are gone. We will have had them 2 years this summer. Hugs to you for your loss.
ReplyDeleteLove the chicken snow print. i had to clear the snow to make a path to their feeder this weekend as they wouldn't walk in it lol! xx
So sad that she should go so quickly, I've never kept chickens but I know they are characters so you will miss her.
ReplyDeleteThe little print in the snow is so poignant, like the print our animals leave on our hearts.
Carol xx
(hugs)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear the sad news x
ReplyDeleteSo sorry Claire x
ReplyDeleteSending hugs to you Claire xx
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your sad news, sending you a (((hug))) x x
ReplyDeleteOh Claire. I missed this post - although I knew about your loss. You will miss them, but maybe it is time for a break. They become such a part of our lives though. Hugs xx
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