Passed…
When I got home I found Cutie (middle in picture) motionless with her head hanging over the edge of the nesting box. Of course sorrow came rushing back in but there was also a sense of relief that her suffering had come to an end. As I mentioned previously her mobility has been limited for well over a year due to some sort of leg issue. Despite this she seemed happy enough. Hell just this past weekend, Cutie was still alert and as normal as normal got nowadays. She hungrily gobbled blueberries I got her as well as watermelon.
All of a sudden early in the week she started acting noticeable weaker. When I saw her starting to tuck her head under her wing a couple days ago I knew the end was coming as this was a scenario I had seen played out with multiple birds. Chickens and all birds in general will do their best to hide injury/illness as long as possible. When they pass it often happens quite suddenly.
Cutie got her name because she was a very cute baby chick and was also very inquisitive. She was a Jersey Giant with incredibly soft black feathers. Her and her sister Cupcake felt like pillows when you would pet them. She was always friendly and somewhere in the middle of the pecking order, even when her legs started failing her. As she relied on me more and more to move her around our bond become closer. I would say her name and she would respond with her cute noises. She knew when I was coming to give her a ride, she would stand up abruptly and take a few steps in my direction. She would normally eat seated in front of a dish, when she had cleaned out the area she could reach she would look at me, letting me know. I would spin the dish and she would resume chowing down. When I would put her on the perch at night I would make sure her feet were in the proper position and stand guard until she got herself seated as she would sometimes be shaky during the transition.
Most of the times when I bury hens I would wrap them up in the coop area first in plastic before carrying them to the back of the property. For whatever reason I didn’t want to do that with Cutie. I cradled her in one arm as I carried the shovel in the other. I always get emotional when burying one of the hens but this was a few clicks higher on the sadness scale for me. Cutie and Cupcake were two of my all time favorite birds. I don’t recall a time in chicken ownership where we lost birds so close together, in this case exactly one week apart. I am down to Kathy and Fiona. I am more attached to Kathy as she is the last OG hen. Fiona, who is about two years younger has never been anything resembling friendly her entire life.
The burial derailed any motivation I had to go out and road bike tonight. Perhaps I will find the time/motivation to put in the 10 miles over the weekend instead.