This morning, when I went outside to let out the chickens, I wondered why things were so quiet in the coop. When I opened up the little coop door to let everyone out into the chicken yard, right at the door was a dead chicken. It was sweet Vanilla. I wrote about her a couple of weeks ago. I gave her a spa day then but realized she was near the end.
I had this small hope though that she would be like Mary Jane and would surprise me and somehow keep going despite having some health issues due to old age and meat bird genetics. But Vanilla seemed really, really tired yesterday, and her comb was dark. I gave her a pet, but she acted weird about it. I decided to leave her alone. I wish I would have said goodbye better.
I am going to try to tell myself, however, that she must have known I loved her. She had a lot of spa days and lots of treats, and I always made sure she got some of the good treats when I would feed scraps to the chickens, even when she was really slowing down. Surely, she knew. I hope so. I think she had a good life, and it was quite long for a pardoned meat chicken. She was five years old.
Interestingly, after I moved her little body, the rest of the flock wouldn’t go near the door where she had been and refused to leave the coop. They were sad too, or at least really out of sorts about it. I used treats and finally got them out.
It’s hunting season, so we couldn’t take Vanilla to the woods to feed a fox or somebody. Ron and my son dug a grave for her. I am really going to miss that sweet girl.
Sorry about Vanilla. Sounds like she had a great life.
I’m so sorry for your loss Crystal. I know how you love your chickens. THEY know you love them.😢 Maine is suffering from a great loss… our innocence has been taken… so violently. Yesterday was such a perfect weather day. My husband and I went to Fort Williams Park … he photographed the full moon over the ocean with Ram’s head light house in the background. There were 3 sailing schooners touring around at sunset and the sky was magnificent…..the setting was magnificent! It was like Maine was showing it’s best and saying… ” You cannot take my goodness away”. There were people everywhere…. walking dogs, dressed up taking family photos, a small wedding with a beautiful hopeful bride, a youth group from India sharing a pot luck dinner at a picnic table, a couple pulled up on their bikes …. she stripped to her bathing suit and ran into the ocean… where there were a few other brave souls… and a few dogs. It was Maine being Maine … beautiful, loving, resilient. ❤️
Oh, I love that so much. Maine being Maine. I am so in love with this state! And I would love to see that moon photograph.
It is so sad when one of the flock dies.
It is! There is such a hole out there without her.