My Name is Pearl *RIP Sweetheart*

[Fuffy]

More please

 

[Lunachick]

We had many days of fun through the summer, chasing each other. Mostly it was us girls against Gertie. But she didn't know, she just followed along like a puppy dog.

Every once in a while you'd hear a screech, and Dorothy would be poking at Gert. I felt for her, but what's a chicken to do? I never attacked her, but to show Ruby & Dorothy I was "in" I jabbed at her once in a blue moon to keep up appearances. I think Gertie knew that and appreciated it for what it was worth. At night when Gertie managed to get up to the roost, I would be there for her on one side. Dorothy stayed on the other end after Ruby. That way we all slept well.

July went by like it usually does and Gertie was laying her small light brown egg everyday. She was contributing! She was so proud. One day she was walking across the brick patio doing a happy "buk buk buk buk buk buk buk, bah gak, buk buk" strolling around and feeling good. Like a chicken should. Ah, everyone was getting along. Mom & Dad were so proud.


In August something changed and Gertie was isolating herself from everyone. And she wasn't being picked on in any particular way. She was acting quiet and reserved, and the other girls just figured "oh well" and went off to do our chicken business. Every once in a while one of us would go over to check on her and she just slowly walked away. Mom would come out and give her a special treat while throwing our stuff towards us on the ground. Gertie would do her obligatory "peck, peck, peck" then look disinterested. Mom got concerned and went out one morning before we even thought about our eggs yet, and was holding her and feeling her crop. It sounded squishy and crunchy to us, after all, ours were empty....we wanted breakfast!

Because Gertie acted different, we started to pick on her again. I thought it wasn't really fair, but, you gotta do what you gotta do. And I really didn't do much to bully her, I felt bad for her. Dorothy and even Ruby started to get rough with her again. Mom took her into the porch. She built a small box with cardboard and bedding and she had the whole porch to walk around if she wanted and Mom watched her. It was figured that she had an impacted crop. Mom was giving her chopped tomatoes with olive oil and bread soaked in olive oil. She did eat that and then sit in her box and watch us wondering around the yard. She made a distinctive sound of low whimpering from time to time. We'd walk by the screened porch and peek in at her. She would perk up and when we walked away, she went back down on her perch.

Mom said "I'm taking her to the vet". We didn't know what that was. A vet?

Gertie and our cat Luna sharing some plant dirt a few days before she passed.

After a few days, Mom came home with a cardboard box. It had Gertie in it and she wasn't moving. We didn't look but we kinda knew. Dad was walking around the yard with a tissue in his hands. Mom was still in the house. She was gathering strength to go out and dig a hole in the garden which used to be our old coop & run and where Gertie was first put when she came to us. It took quite some time for Mom to dig that hole, Dad was pacing around and Mom couldn't see what she was doing because of all the water in her eyes.

Mom didn't act her same happy self for a long while. She would come out and give us our treats and let us out to explore and we had fun, but when she stood there watching us, we would stroll by her and stop and look up at her with one foot up, then the moment was gone and we ran off. But I think there was an understanding of some sort. Life goes on. Mom can't mention Gertie to Dad, he doesn't like to cry, so we can't talk about her much.

The fall went by like it normally does and we were just the three of us and we were fine. I think Mom learned something from this though, never bring just one chicken into a flock of any size especially if it's of a sweet nature like a Barred Rock. You can't sneak her in and you can't shove her in. She needs buddies for back up.

That's when Mom decided to get chicks in the Spring.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

Oh goodness! I think that is the first time I ever cried while reading a thread on BYC. Your stories are so touching and heartfelt. I read each installment to my soon-to-be 8 yr old son and every night before bed he comes and asks me if I have heard anymore about Pearl and Ruby. Thank you so much for taking the time to write and let us all read along.

 

[Bantimna]

 

[Lunachick]

Quote:
Thank you for saying that. I don't mean for it to be sad, it's just Pearl telling her story, as it is. I'm not sure what's going on with Pearl right now, and I somehow got the message from her that I need to tell her story. I hope you and your son enjoy the rest....it does get a little more pleasant!

 

[Lunachick]

Early fall is always fun. The three of us ran around scratching up leaves and finding goodies underneath. When Ruby gives her "happy cluck sound" we come running to her. She would let us in on the goodies while she watched. But only for a few seconds, then she was snatching up goodies too! Mom would throw pumpkin out for us and we LOVED the seeds! Then she would roll a log over and we were there! Those earthworms weren't fast enough for us! I wasn't very fond of those woodbugs, you know those things that roll up into a ball, pillbugs maybe? ....

I LOOKED but no way was I eating one of those! Dorothy liked them though, she didn't like it when they were tiny little balls, she waited til they unwound themselves and started walking away, then she snatched them.

Mom had a planter at the back door and a hanging planter above that. I think she thought we wouldn't bother that. Hahahaha. Well, after awhile, she just had soil in the planter and no plants.....I wonder why? We still liked to jump into it and scratch around in the soil...you never know, we might find something. One day I decided to feel brave and I jumped up onto the planter to scratch around. Mom happened to be on the back porch reading. There was a swoosh of wind and a large flapping noise......Mom looked out and saw a hawk with its legs down and claws out heading for me at the planter! But because of the planter hanging above me, the hawk hit it's wing on it and went up into the nearby oak tree instead! During that time Mom ran out the screened door and grabbed me.....she looked to her right and Ruby & Dorothy had scooted under the rhododendron nearby..she looked up into the tree and saw the hawk staring down at us. "Oh no you don't! Not my birds!" She looked down at me and then back at the hawk, but it wasn't there anymore! We didn't hear a thing, but it had flown off! The reason it didn't get me, was that the hawk's wing had hit the hanging plant above me and that diverted it enough so it went back up into the tree. *whew* That was the closest call we ever got. Mom got us in the run/coop with no problem that day.


Boring! We had to stay in the run for a whole week. All because of that hawk. And it was SO nice out! But she wouldn't let us out no matter how loud we squawked! Dorothy was the worst: rantrantrantrantrantrantrant! All day.

After a while we started to settle down and were very content with our situation, after all it could have been worse, way worse.

So this is what we did day in and day out during the winter. A lot of days were mild if I remember right, and we were allowed out when Mom came home from "work" we may have had only a half hour or so, but it was so nice to go stretch our legs and get fresh air and have something different to look/peck at. We kinda avoided the planter area, and ran past that real fast.


Whenever we had rice or some other kind of sticky treat Mom would watch us eat and we really didn't mind. A lot of times she would catch us doing something really sweet. Like one time Ruby had too much stuff on her beak when she was scarfing up a good treat. When she put her head up to taste what she had, Dorothy would ever so lightly peck off the little crumbs off Ruby's beak in such a gentle manner. Ruby didn't object, almost like when someone would kindly hand you a napkin when you needed it.

 

[specklesmom]

Such a wonderful story!! I feel so sad about poor Gertie.....Thank goodness the hawk was foiled by the hanging basket!! And what lovely manners your girls are developing. Keep up the great writing!!

 

[chicken+quail=luv]

I love this story so far!

It's making me want to write one! I felt so bad for Pearl and Ruby, with their poor beaks.

When I read the part about Gertie, I had tears in my eyes! Poor, poor Gertie!

Keep writing! You're doing fabulous so far!

 

[Lunachick]

I heard (a little birdy told me) That Mom had ordered a "5 chick mystery package" and that they should arrive in late March. And they did! When Mom went to the P.O. at 7 a.m. in her jammies! She received a box and brought it home, and while she was driving she had to "peep" back at the box, because, there was peeping in there but it was so faint that she had to peep back at them, and when she did they PEEPED right back at her! Very loudly and urgent sounding! Peep, Peep, Peep !! So Mom and the peeps talked all the way home.

Which was only a 10 minute drive. Thank goodness.

This is what the box looked like:

Then Mom took it right away into the warm room and opened it. She already had the brooder box ready and heated - just waiting for the babies - but one little baby came DOA.

It was a little naked neck chick.

It happens sometimes. Some are not so strong, or just can't handle the stress of shipping or something. Sad, but it happens. The other four were fine!

Mom scooped each one out and put them in the brooder box and put each little beak owner into the waterer so they knew where to drink. Chicks are very smart, after that they knew where to go for their water. They found the chickie mash soon after! No worries, they were fine! All day long: little chicks peeping, pooping, and running back and forth with their little wings stretched out! Sometimes bumping with their chests into each other

little tough guys testing each other out! Very cute!

Luna the cat liked to watch.

It didn't take long and they got bigger and bigger, and their feathers got longer! When Mom opened the top for them to come out and explore, they would FLY! Even though they plummeted to the ground right away. Eventually they got big enough and the warm temps in the back room made it very inviting for those babies. they started to hang out back in the sunroom.

Oh yes, they were enjoying this! We only started to come by the back sliding glass door to observe...........

 

[easttxchick]

Such cute babies!