fashionfobie
Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
She had a good life with us. When we first got her she was feral. She was in a giant batch of layers hens. She was raised for industry, hatched in a box, and left to fend for herself.
It took us months to build up her trust. She joined us in December of 2015. She did come around eventually and loved rolled oats.
She was always worried about the placement in the flock and because of her worries with this, she tended to alienate herself. She was in survival mode and seemed desperate in everything she did. As the years passed by she found her rhythm and had a place, though she was a bit of a bully to younger hens.
She had a stroke two months ago and that mellowed her out. She ended up losing some of her vision and became much more dependant on the younger birds. She even started sleeping in a nest box with our 10 month old hen Nova.
We hand fed her, her last few days. She passed away surrounded by her flock and was loved. I think she knows that now. I think after all of the years of being in such a high alert, high survival state, she was able to let go knowing that she was important and was cared for... at least I hope.
Chickens are so affectionate and caring. They are complex birds with social needs. They have empathy. They love. I am crying over the loss of my hen. It was never her fault that humans treated her so badly in her early life. Poor sweet bird.
Attachments
-
201.7 KB Views: 18
-
188.9 KB Views: 18
-
150.9 KB Views: 18
-
152.6 KB Views: 18