Last chicken gone :(

[CathyA]

I got 17 pullets (baby hens) 12 years ago last June, and the last one died yesterday. She was an easter egger and was totally energetic and appeared healthy. I think she adjusted to being alone, and loved scratching around in the run and sleeping on the window sill in the coop at night. Tuesday morning, she wouldn't come done from the sill, so I helped her. She was slow that day and didn't go outside. She slept in the lower nest box that night. Wednesday she was really dragging and her crop was full of fluid. I put her in a dog crate so I could watch her better, and Thursday morning she was gone. :(

This one is harder on me because they're all gone now. I look out at the run and it's empty. I go into the coop and it's quiet. It's all making me pretty sad. :(

Yes, I could get more, but I don't think I will. I'm having too much physical pain to work that hard again.....

Anyhow......it was a really nice 12+ years and I miss them all.

[Birdie]

I'm so sorry.

[catherine]

I'm sorry as well, Cathy.

[iris lilies]

Oh my, that's quite a change for you with no chickens!

[Float On]

So sorry.
When chickens get sick they really tend to go pretty quickly so at least their suffering isn't so long. They really spike high on fevers so sometimes they are 'gone' before they are physically gone.

[Simplemind]

I'm sorry. It would be very sad to take in the emptiness of the coop and run when there used to be such energy there. I haven't had chickens in many years but remember them fondly as pets with character. I'm sure yours were much the same. I found their little clucks kinda soothing. The end of an era for sure.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone. I just wish I weren't so sensitive about everything. It wears me out!

Not sure what I'll do with the coop. I'll definitely clean it out, since you know what a mess coops can be......but I don't want to change too much and give myself a year or 2, then maybe think about having 3-5 hens.
I'm just so darned over-protective with everything, that it makes it quite a bit of work for me.....especially in harsh winters.

People think "How can you get so attached to a chicken, for heaven's sake"..........but they're like any other pet. They all have different personalities.

Yes, I gave them all names. I had 6 buff Orpingtons (all orange), 5 Black Australorps (all black) and 6 Americanas ("easter eggers")....which were all different colors. (blue/green eggs too!). I put colored leg bands around the first 2 breeds, so I would know who was who. (Whitney had a white band, Skye had a blue band, Lady Marmalade had an orange band, etc.). But after a few years, some of the bands fell off and I no longer could keep them straight. So I'm not sure which of those died. I did have to take care of their health problems, since vets don't usually know anything about chickens. I did take a couple of them to a specialist in the city near here, but soon learned it was too expensive, and I could read online and learn to do most of this stuff myself.
Nobie was a Buff Orpington (Nobie= No band) and seemed like she was sick from the start. I got them all when they were 1 day old. I soon realized that I had to separate her from the others, or they would kill her. I learned to drain her abdomen every 3-4 months. I think she had a heart condition. She was fine in-between those drains, but lived in a separate pen. She lived to be about 8 years old.

I had a coon attack once that killed Hawk and PepperAnne. :( The others died of various afflictions............pendulous crop, infections, fall off the roost and breaking their necks, etc. But each and every death made me sad.
I have a little "chicken graveyard" in the woods. If anyone excavates this area in the future, they'll wonder what's going on. haha Also in that area is a baby barred owl and our beloved Titter Tat.
All our dogs are in another area.

Keeping the coop decent, and the animals fed/watered/cooled/heated/healthy took energy..........fortunately we had electricity to the coop, so I could keep their water from freezing in the winter, and had fans to keep them cool in the summer.
You always knew who was "top dog" because they got to sit on the window sill at the top of the ladder roost. If one of them died, the pecking order would always change. Some of them didn't seem to care about the pecking order. Poor Periwinkle was always on the bottom of the order........the feathers on her back side were always pecked off.........but she carried on. After some of the more aggressive hens died, she was able to sit on the window sill. YAY!! Go Periwinkle! I was very sad when she died.

If a large bird flew over their run, they would scream and run into the coop. But if a bunny came up to their fenced-in run, they would be very interested and check it out. Funny how animals seem to know what they should be afraid of, and what won't hurt them, and it doesn't seem to depend on size. Although I've heard they can be curious about coons, and then the coon kills them (through a larger hole fence). We had our run covered with 1/2" steel hardware cloth......so that wasn't a problem. The coon that killed Hawk and PepperAnne found the one little opening in the top netting. After that, we added fencing to the top of the run too.

I was always a little disappointed that I didn't get a rooster with the 17 pullets I ordered. I know some people get too many roosters, but I did want one, since I heard they could be real protectors and gentlemen..........unless of course they were just monsters.......which I've heard a lot of them are.

Finding the first egg was so exciting (eggciting! haha). I started getting too many, so I would sell some and take some to the Caring Center. But it was always great, eating our own eggs.

Anyhow......thanks for listening. It was quite an experience that really enriched my life.

[catherine]

Thank you for sharing your story! I understand your feelings. We have a neighbor two doors away who is moving. She has a beautiful chicken coop/hen house--it's like a tiny Tiny House. I'd almost live in it! She's moving and she knows I'm into permaculture and she sees my backyard gardens so she asked if I'd want the chickens when she moves--she's not going to take them.

DH and I are talking about it, but DH is leaning toward "no" because of the reason you've cited: he doesn't want to get attached to them.

[pinkytoe]

My condolences. DD has three chickens that I sometimes take care of, ie chicken-sit. They are endearing creatures. One of hers is lame due to a raccoon attack and literally rolls around to move about. It should have been put down but she is too attached to it to do the deed. I find them to be a lot of work though so maybe you can take a rest from that aspect for now.

[CathyA]

I know some people who just let them free-range. If they get eaten by a predator, then that's just life. But I can't have pets like that. I wouldn't sleep at night!
When that coon killed 2 of my hens, it tore a 4"x2" section of skin off the back of Brownie.......one of the easter eggers. I brought her into the house and kept her in a dog crate so I could take care of her more easily. I couldn't believe how quickly they can heal. She was out within the month with all new skin and feathers growing! One thing about having them in the house (I have had others temporarily in the house when they were sick)......and they make a fine powder appear everywhere.

Nobie, the chronically sick one spent quite a while in the house towards the end. Fortunately, my bathroom was big enough for the crate, which I put on a card table, so I could reach her better. I guess I might have taken it too far, but I put a radio in there for her during the day, if I was going to be gone. Oh.....here's a pic of her I found. I added a mirror too, so she would think she was with another chicken. It's amazing how beautiful she was, even though she had a really bad health problem. She was a real trooper. They all were!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_5221.jpg

[iris lilies]

Cathy, enjoyed hearing about your chickens. They had a rare home indeed. My Sister in law in like you about her chickens, very protective their coop is close to their house, so even with her health problems she can take care of the chickens.

Oour neighborhood has a park in the center with a small lake. Waterfowl are always an issue:their care, how many we should have, etc. After the tragic death of Willie the Swan (human carelessness) I was adamant that we not get another big bird simply because they look pretty on the lake. Some do goodness eventually paid for several Swans, and there is a committee of responsible people who care for them.

Three weeks ago someone dumped their Touloose goose in ou Park. This is a domesticated goose who does not swim and can't get away from the stray dogs who killed Willie. Also she can't be out in the winter. And she is very friendly to humans which means if the dogs don't get her, a roving band of kids from the projects will get her. She's in a highly dangerous situation.

fortunately, someone in our neighborhood placed her is a great home out in the country where she has shelter and will be cared for. I will admit that I flip acted the idea of a fast quick death for her that resulted in a goose dinner. Mainly, I didn't want her to be torn to shreds by dogs.

[Teacher Terry]

It sounds like your chickens brought you a lot of joy. I think as we age we have to decide how much work do we want to do. We have 4 old dogs right now & as they go I think I will be content with 1 or 2. I need to ignore sob stories about dogs needing homes which is how I ended up with 4. Il: people can be so stupid about animals. Glad the bird got a safe home.

[Greg44]

Sorry to hear about your Chicken(s) - grateful for people like you who enjoy and respect God's creatures. She was lucky to have you!