Lost our favorite hen to drowning !! Very sad

Its taken me a 2 days to be able to be on here, as Im grieving alot.

Friday morning, my 15 year old son, who by the way, was his birthday, came in from our run with

an unusual look on his face while i was in the kitchen.

I couldnt understand what he was trying to get around to saying until he teared up , hugged me and began a cry that I hope I never hear again.

His and my, favorite hen, was found in a hole that is only about 10 inches deep, that she grew up around, and is used for the ducks whenever it rains.

Now, if anyone is tempted to get on to me , I had NO idea, neither did my son, that this little hole had filled up overnight as we were gone out of town until that morning.  We had a neighbor let out the birds and they have always done a great job of loving them and caring for them.

We have NO idea what happened !  Everything was great when we checked on them earlier.

For everyone who has kids, no matter how old they may be, I, at least found out that the most heartbreaking site is that of my child holding his hen, trying so hard to choke back All the tears. My son even said a little prayer.  He and I had a little burial outside in the pouring rain.

I hate seeing my children hurting, but I do explain to them, and in this case, that tragic accidents happen, hopefully we learn from them and make sure it doesnt happen again, and most importantly, I explain to them that life is about changing, nothing ever stays the same, and that we become stronger.

I, then, went into my room and did my little coming unglued part.

He understands stages of grief, but now he is living it. 

We have NO idea how or what happened, and we are still trying to figure it out.

He is doing better, Ive made his birthday the best I could and he appreciates it greatly.

Its hard, no matter how old we are.

Thanks for letting me grieve to my fellow BYCer's

Thank you Speckled Hen , for you thoughts and kind words.  It is greatly appreciated.
 

It means so much to us to hear from fellow BYCers who understand.  Its unfortunate that he will remember for years to come, how he found her on his 15th birthday.

Even tho he's 15, hes Still a child who needs support.  Of course, his "ole" mom needs it too, but I do most of my grieving alone.  My son doesnt need ME to fall apart too, he needs MY support, although ,during the first moments , we were both in shock, but within a few minutes, we dug a hole,covered her, my son put some wildflowers in with her, and we had a burial.

He's OK now.  I explained to him that we all go thru losing someone or something we love.

I still cant go out to that part of the yard, Ive been hanging out with the new baby silkies, cochins and millie.

I know I will go over there probably today, since her remaining sister Barred Rock, still wants and loves us. 
She is with the 3 ducks that they grew up with since day 1, but she loves to travel around on our shoulders while chores are being done : making sure everything is done correctly..LOL..
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by theoldchick 

Just awful!  I remember when I was 12 years old and lost a parakeet to toilet drowning.  Little fella escaped from his cage and for some reason ended up in the toilet.  Who knows how or why the little guy went for the toilet.  Later,  I had one escape and drown in a aquarium.  I was absolutely devastated but I learned from my mistakes.  I made my cages parakeet proof, covered all my aquariums, and was called the toilet bowl Nazi if I found the commode lid up.

Sorry about your parakeets, and I love " the toilet bowl Nazi" ..thats great.

Thank you for your thoughts..

Quote:

Originally Posted by GardenGal 

I'm so sorry for you and for your son that you've had to go through that.  We lost my favorite RIR to a coyote on my husband's birthday and my little sister was the one who saw her taken.  It was a really hard few weeks.  We got 4 chicks shortly after that, and that's helped a lot.  for you and for your son.

Thank you for your kind thoughts.  I had to bring myself to go out to that part of the yard today, and I had my few moments of blaming myself, which I still am, unfortunately, and Im the one trying to tell my son not to blame himself.

We have 8 week old silkies, millie and 2 mottled cochins that are keeping me busy.  Of course we have to other flocks too, to keep us busy.  Im so guilty of "humanizing" my animals, which is a bad thing for the most part, but Im working on it..

I am sorry for the loss of your RIR, and hope it wasnt too recent.  I feel bad for your little sister very much , as well as your husband.