Goodbye Brownie.....I'll miss you

[CathyA]

I went out to open up the coop this morning, and found Brownie dead on the floor. She was a beautiful brown easter-egger. She was always so sweet and would let me pet her anytime. I nursed her back to health after a coon attack in 2008.
She would have been 8 years old this June. I don't know what got her......maybe her heart gave out? She had the most beautiful coat of feathers. She was fine yesterday. I will miss her. Some people don't understand having feelings like this towards chickens, but a pet is a pet.
I've lost 11 of my initial 17 chickens over the past 8 years and I was thinking that I was over getting really sad over losing them. I was wrong.
Goodbye sweet Brownie. :(

[Float On]

Oh I feel for you. I'm so sorry. Chickens have quite the personality and each one is different. Are you keeping a few of her pretty feathers? I wish I'd kept some from the ones I've lost.

[Gina]

Sorry about your Brownie. :(

Many pet birds have personalities, same with chickens. Not sure there are any animals that we humans won't get attached to over time.

[earthshepherd]

sorry to hear about our pet! I had chickens years ago and got quite attached to them too. They have personalities of their own, surprisingly so.

[Rosemary]

Oh, I'm so sorry! That must have been a very sad shock.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone. She was so beautiful. I'm wondering if I missed something. One of them had been pooping yellow in their stool, rather than white. I discovered it was Brownie when I checked her over after she died. She had no other symptoms. The yellow was the color of cooked egg yolk, so I'm wondering if she had an internal laying problem brewing. Most of my hens haven't laid in a long time, but I attributed it to being in "henopause". In my experience, if they're going to have laying problems, its around this time. I hope I didn't miss something that I could have done something about. She was so beautiful and was always friendly to me.
Thanks for your kind words.

[goldensmom]

Sorry about Brownie. It was a bad week for chickens. We lost Rudy the Rooster (Rhode Island Red). He was very old but the only rooster for 30 hens. I will miss him leading and herding his girls and his crowing every morning.

[CathyA]

So sorry about Rudy goldensmom. These little feathered guys can be so special to us.

[Greg44]

This is why I like buying my eggs from a backyard chicken person - the love their birds. I think it says a lot about a person who loves their animals. Sorry about your loss.

[puglogic]

I used to love my chickens. Somewhere I have a photo of me sitting out in the chicken yard in one of those directors' chairs (wood frame with canvas seat and back), with me reading, and with two Barred Rocks roosting on each armrest. They didn't lay well, but they were sweet as the dickens. CathyA, so sorry about Brownie.....I'll bet she had a wonderful life thanks to you, though! (((cathya)))

[The Storyteller]

I keep chickens for meat and eggs, and have learned never to get too attached to them. I care for them, which is why I keep them, but I can't say I love them. I appear to be an anomaly in the chicken world.

I don't really get the whole chickens-as-pets thing, but do understand losing a pet can be painful. I just try to relate it to the loss of my dog of 14 years a couple of years ago. A loss is a loss, and I'm sorry for yours.

[CathyA]

Thanks again everyone,
Float on......yes, I have some of her feathers. I always collect some, when they moult. I usually don't have the heart to pull them out after they're dead.
I'm thinking of putting a fan of them in a picture frame. Just need to figure out how to keep them stable. I have feathers from all of the girls.

[jennipurrr]

So sorry to hear about Brownie. She sounded like a special chicken.

[Wildflower]

Oh, CathyA, I'm so sorry to hear about Brownie's passing. Hugs to you.

[Kat]

(((CathyA))) So sorry for your loss. Brownie was a lucky girl to have been loved the way she was. Don't beat yourself up wondering if there was something you might have missed. It sounds as though she led a good, long life.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone. The coop just isn't the same without her. :(