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Unexpected Chicken Death.
Apr. 27th, 2012 10:57 pmI may have to change my chicken userpic. Then again I may never want to change it ever again. It features Lantana, my now deceased Rhode Island Red.
She was energetic and quick enough to sneak out the gate when I let the ducks out this morning. She was her normal calm self when I picked her up to tuck her back into the chicken yard before the flood waters progressed too far into the yard.
She was stone cold dead with ants crawling on her face when I went out to feed the Geese about 10 minutes ago.
She was my oldest chicken - 6 years old this Fall. The only hen that had been mine since a chick. In the winter, when everyone else mostly stopped laying, I would still find the occasional extra large brown egg and I knew it was from Lantana. She was the only chicken calm enough to pet, and she would even let C pick her up and carry her around a bit.
I'm sad to have lost such a good hen. I'm worried that there was no apparent cause and maybe the other hens are at risk. M thinks maybe the goose got her, and I wouldn't put it past the female to attack a chicken. Lantana wasn't very fast at getting out of her way, but they've coexisted for two years, so it's probably not Speedy's doing.
Lantana, the Rhode Island Red. RIP.
(photo courtesy of H.)
Time to break out the shovel.
*Sigh*
ETA: I just realized a little while ago that of all the animals we currently have, we'd had Lantana the longest, besides Hazel. She predated my livejournal. No other current animal, besides Hazel, predates my livejournal.
We ended up burying her under the oak tree.
She was energetic and quick enough to sneak out the gate when I let the ducks out this morning. She was her normal calm self when I picked her up to tuck her back into the chicken yard before the flood waters progressed too far into the yard.
She was stone cold dead with ants crawling on her face when I went out to feed the Geese about 10 minutes ago.
She was my oldest chicken - 6 years old this Fall. The only hen that had been mine since a chick. In the winter, when everyone else mostly stopped laying, I would still find the occasional extra large brown egg and I knew it was from Lantana. She was the only chicken calm enough to pet, and she would even let C pick her up and carry her around a bit.
I'm sad to have lost such a good hen. I'm worried that there was no apparent cause and maybe the other hens are at risk. M thinks maybe the goose got her, and I wouldn't put it past the female to attack a chicken. Lantana wasn't very fast at getting out of her way, but they've coexisted for two years, so it's probably not Speedy's doing.
Lantana, the Rhode Island Red. RIP.
(photo courtesy of H.)
Time to break out the shovel.
*Sigh*
ETA: I just realized a little while ago that of all the animals we currently have, we'd had Lantana the longest, besides Hazel. She predated my livejournal. No other current animal, besides Hazel, predates my livejournal.
We ended up burying her under the oak tree.
