Happened again, Didn’t even unbox
So I buried Shadow in the dark last night. I put her within a couple feet of Pumpkin who died exactly one week ago. Unlike Sunday where Shadow was still drinking and eating somewhat, she pretty much shut down yesterday showing no interest in anything while standing/sitting with her eyes closed and beak tucked under her wing for most of the day. When Cindy got home Shadow was barely breathing. It was getting colder outside so Cindy put some shavings in the bottom of a rubber tub and brought Shadow inside so she wouldn’t be cold which was sweet.
When I got home and saw Shadow I thought she had already passed. Only after careful observation could I see she was still taking long, slow breaths but she was unresponsive otherwise. I talked to and petted her a little before I let her rest. After eating dinner we checked on her again she was gone, although we double and triple checked. When Cindy picked her up the heat had left her body and the stiffness had already started to set in. As usual the death of another pet invoked an emotional response in me. I feel responsible and that I should have been able to do more.
As I placed her in the deep hole I said my final goodbye, covered her up, and placed spike covered palm fronds on top to hopefully prevent an animal from digging her up and desecrating the corpse. The walk back to the house with the shovel in hand felt extra dark and cold.
Last night I started the modifications I spoke about, blocking off access to the coop “basement”. I also took one old spare plastic roof panel I had in the shed and put it across the frame of the playground to give the birds some other covered area to hang under. I plan on getting more of the panels and attaching them to a proper frame that I can secure but also remove to easily clean/refresh the ground underneath. It may take some time for the hens to get the idea but I think they will like the arrangement eventually.
Last night might have been a first, I had a new EV device delivered and didn’t even crack open the box. My Ranger X1 AT (all terrain) electric skateboard showed up last night. The FedEx guy didn’t ring the doorbell until after 8PM. By that time I was in the middle of a few other things and I was bummed about Shadow, so I just leaned the box against a cabinet where it remains today. Hopefully tonight I will get a chance to pull out the new board and take a look.