Of Course It’s Not Easy ,Done in Darkness
Yesterday after work I came home expecting to find Fiona dead in the chicken run. When I walked out there I saw she had moved a few feet but was not moving, I thought she was gone. However as I came over to her I saw she was still with us, barely. I scooped her up and carried her inside the coop. I grabbed one of the unused nesting boxes with wood chips in it and placed it on the floor. I gently placed her in it, trying to place her in manner that looked comfortable. I sat on the floor next to Fiona for awhile, just talking and petting her, she was too wiped out to even open her eyes at that point.
I went back inside and decided I needed to keep busy. I grabbed the second new bathroom vent fan that just arrived and figured I could get it installed in the master bathroom in 15 minutes or less, as advertised. Well once again the home builders half ass sub contractors were on display. The cage for this vent was poorly installed as well. When I unplugged the old fan the receptacle itself fell apart in my hand, great.
After examining it I saw a small plastic tab was broken off. For a few minutes I entertained the idea of trying to rig it using electrical tape to hold the plug together but thankfully common sense kicked in. Half ass solutions where electricity is involved is never a good idea. I grabbed the receptacle and headed to the local hardware store although I knew the odds of them having it were slim to none. As expected I struck out. When I got home I did find the part on Amazon which I ordered. It will be here in a few days but in the meantime I am also stopping at Home Depot on the way home to see if they may have the part. Just like the guest room fan, the old unit was disgusting, covered in gray fuzzy material.
When I went back out to put the chickens to bed I thought Fiona might have passed but again she was still holding on by a whisper. After some tearful moments I told her goodbye as I was certain she would not endure the night. This time I was right. When I went out to the coop this morning she was indeed gone which of course made me sad but also relieved that she was not suffering any longer. I decided I wanted to bury her immediately despite it being pitch black. I grabbed a flashlight and my shovel and carried her corpse to the burial ground in the far rear of the property.
The funeral went as they always do for me, tear/sorrow filled. Each time a bird passes I feel a weight of responsibility that I can not escape. Because of the burial my normal morning routine was streamlined greatly. I slammed a couple pop tarts for breakfast and kept moving at FF speed. I somehow managed to arrive at the office a few minutes early which was unexpected. It’s going to be a somber sort of day. Kathy is officially the queen of the Royal Rumble, the last standing bird of a flock that at it’s maximum included 13 birds.