Hen acting odd, empty crop almost always. Not Urgent / Need Feedback

[Yardmom]

Did you take a look in her mouth for sores such as canker?

 

[TheRealChickenLord]

Hey everyone, sorry I disappeared.

It’s taken me a while to process, but I think I’m ready now.
Artemis has passed away, earlier this week.
I tried desperately to get a veterinarian but ended up either being turned down or ghosted by all over 10 of them. I ended up finding one office, but the one opening they had was today, and I had a feeling poor Artie wouldn’t make it that long.

I don’t know what killed her. If I was in a better place of mind I would’ve tried to take her in for a necropsy. But selfishly, that idea disturbed me. I didn’t want to think about that.
To answer some questions, I doubt it was worms at that point. There was no canker or blockage in her mouth. My moms friend, a former exotic veterinarian, suggested a kind of organ failure.

The day of, hours before her passing, she spent nearly the whole day outside in the sun with me. At this point she couldn’t walk without wincing or falling over. So she laid in my lap and soaked in the sun.
It was peaceful. Or, at least as peaceful as it could be.
After a while outside I decided to put her back into the coop. I put her in a secluded top loft and got her all cozy in blankets and towels so that she wouldn’t have to support herself.

Then I left. Returned about 2 hours later to find that she passed away. My mom helped me bury her.
I chose a spot between the two young trees that grew up alongside her.
It sits perfectly on a hillside so I can always see her.
I made a rock mural and covered her resting spot in flowers from her favorite places.
Then I took a bottle, wrote a long eulogy, filled it with her favorite treats, sealed it up and set it on top of the rock mural.

My chickens aren’t just “chickens” to me. I get teased a lot for how much I love them. But these birds are just as important to me as any dog or cat.
It hurt me so much to watch her fade away, the guilt ate me alive. I ended up actually getting sick and with laryngitis. My voice is still recovering.

I’m going to miss Artie and her distinct, dinky little call: “bee bee ba ba”. That’s what she would always say. Her favorite place to cuddle was always underneath her sisters. She would kill for any dairy product that she could get her beak in.
She loved the compost pile, and I’d always have to drag her away, again and again, from the rotting food that she insisted was so good.
Her favorite place to take a bath was in my mom’s flower bed. Mom didn’t appreciate that very much, but she didn’t seem to mind. (I didn’t either.)

I’m lucky I got to spend these 5 years with her, even though it was cut short. She was apart of my flock that got me through the pandemic, intact. They never fail to make me forget the stress, and constantly remind me to just relax, soak in the sun, and eat whatever I want. I’ve never had a flock that loved physical attention more than treats, but they definitely do. And that was so special to me

So, Artie. I’ll hold a special spot for you in the cuddle piles, and make sure that there’s room underneath someone. I’ll miss you whenever I look into that coop. Love you always.

 

[townchicks]

I'm so sorry you lost her. She was well.loved. it sounds like she had a great life.