...and then there were two

[DeutschHühner]

Hello, everyone. It's been quite a while since I visited this site. I came here fairly frequently when I first got my nine babies, eight years ago. Evidently, I got good advice!
My girls have been living a life of leisure as most, if not all of their egg laying days are behind. We were down to three hens until this afternoon. All this time I've had zero issues with predators and today a hawk finds its way into the run. By the time I got out there, Big Momma was gone. The hawk was having a hell of a time getting out of the run, but I kept a cool head and was able to secure it under a thick blanket. It didn't want to let go of the hardware cloth and I didn't want to hurt it, nor get a talon through my hand. I was patient and eventually got it off and was able to free it, apparently unharmed.
The two remaining girls were pretty shaken up, but they seem to be closer somehow. Before, one of them was pals with Big Momma and the two of them weren't too kind to Cha-cha, although she held her own, tiny little thing that she is. I guess I'll know more tomorrow, but I sense they have some sort of trauma bond now. My concern is that with them both being in their twilight years, how will the last surviving hen do when the other one passes? We're not getting more chickens. I had to go back to work full time and I just can't spend the time they deserve taking care of them, especially babies. Rehoming an eight year old hen seems challenging and would be further complicated by the fact I'm in a part of Germany where chickens aren't thought much of apart from how they taste. I thought I'd never find a vet willing to seriously help when they got sick. I finally did, but by then the coop already had lots of extra space. Honestly, if Cha-cha were to be the last one, I think she might be ok. She's been mostly ignored by the other two for a couple of years now, so she's used to it. The other one, I'm not so sure. (Apart from Cha-cha, I stopped referring to them by their names after I had to put five of them down in a relatively short span of time. I'm just using "Big Momma" now because she was the biggest of the three.)
I was hoping to hear from anyone who ended up keeping a single hen and how that went. I feel that's the only future for my girls and I want to make whichever one as comfortable as possible. Thanks heaps and Happy New Year!

 

[cavemanrich]

Since you don't have an option to rehome easily,, just keep your solo chicken until the end. If inside her run she can see other birds,(wild birds) I think it is helpful.

complicated by the fact I'm in a part of Germany where chickens aren't thought much of apart from how they taste.

The above is surprising to me, Everybody LUVS chicken as food.


WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Callender Girl]

I am sorry you lost Big Momma; I admire you for not wanting to hurt the hawk. People here often shake their heads in disbelief when I say I don't want to kill all the predators (coyotes, especially); they are just doing what they naturally do.

It can take a lot of time for traumatized chickens to heal, but animals are resilient in ways people often aren't.

Of course, I can't predict how one of your girls will do if she becomes the last hen standing, but I think she might be okay.

I have multiple coops, but two smaller ones now house only a single hen. Camille's sister died last winter, and Evie's sister died last week. I was hoping to house them together.

But, Evie immediately began bullying Camille -- who has been fine living alone for the past year. Even when I open her coop to let her out with the others, she seems to prefer staying in her own run, by herself. I believe Camille --who rarely left her sister's side -- still has a perfectly good life. I hope the same for your girls.