New Brahma Group: Blue Partridge x Partridge, Plus Dark

That's a lot of trauma to absorb at that age. It's not very good news that the wound is not healing as it should.

Yes, it surely is. I wish she would have healed and even been able to go back with Bash, but that was never going to happen. At least, after she was reasonably healed, at least enough to go in with a small rooster, being with Axel gave her some company until he began to be less leery of her and make mating attempts. She is just so beautiful, probably the most beautiful of all the hens in that group, that I hate not to see her every day. Thanks for your support, Mary. I guess learning continues as long as I have chickens, but I'd much rather have a boring barnyard than ever deal with anything like this again.

That's sure the truth

Everyone on this very long-running thread is so appreciated, all the support and suggestions from the very experienced folk who frequent it. We have a lot of knowledge on this thread alone, experiences not everyone has, crazy stuff we encounter that is rarely or never mentioned in any book ever written about chickens. That experience is what makes a great chicken manager, but even with all that, so many things remain a mystery. We do our best with all the knowledge in our arsenal and often, it just isn't enough.
Many issues are simply not fixable. I did all I could do for Bonnie and will continue to do until she is gone, as we do with every ailing bird, but at this point, it's pretty much out of our hands. I can't fix her old age nor her heart condition, no matter what I do. I always tell about these things on my channel to let newer chicken owners, or those just thinking about having them, understand that much they encounter that makes them feel a failure is really not their fault. They want to fix the problem, naturally, and feel they failed if they didn't. Sometimes you can fix it, like with Athena's fly strike that completely healed because I knew what to do and caught it in time; I knew what to do from past experience with big old Suede as he was on his decline and I knew what to do at that time because of an even worse situation with one of Ladyhawk's hens, coincidentally, a Suede daughter. Her horse vet was on the spot to guide her in that situation-he was a rare guy, a fairly famous Kentucky horse vet who knew a lot about poultry and was invaluable to me long distance more than once. Knowledge is not as valuable if it isn't passed on to others.
We just build on experiences and glean knowledge from those who know more than we do or have had different experiences. In the end, I think guilt is often a condition of chicken keeping as much as it is with raising human children.

People who are nurturers always seem to have a much greater capacity for guilt. We do the best we can, and if we are offering them a good comfortable home, with companionship, food, water, shelter, and room to move around, then they are very fortunate. Just as we are fortunate to enjoy their companionship for as long as it lasts. And their delicious eggs.

Yes! I completely agree. Bonnie has not stood up all day, won't eat or drink. Her final resting place is ready for her beautiful self.

Good thing I had a nice big hole dug for her. When I went out awhile later, she was already gone, didn't flap, just quit breathing. I looked at the wing and it seemed to have the same huge scab, not really infected, just not making new skin. I think the smell was the death smell they get the last day or two when they're on their way out, maybe in the poop.

Still a beautiful girl

Absolutely. She was a real beauty, I agree. Thank you Mary.