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[Inkheart]

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Thank you - i guess it would have been easier if she had been sick and it was not so unexpected. I am also assuming the first loss is the hardest as i am newer to chickens and have not had them too terribly long !

 

[X2Farm]

Sorry to hear bout that Ink

 

[speckledhen]

I'm sorry about your hen, but, trust me, and I speak from experience, it's best to lose them like that, not have them waste away over months and be helpless to fix them. Been there so many times with internal laying. I lost one suddenly that was a completely healthy hen and that was jolting, but far easier to deal with.

 

[Inkheart]

thanks eveyone - weird but if i knew why i might feel better - but i guess it doesnt matter cause she is gone - Now i am gonna be crazy watching the others to make sure they are not having issues too! "News @6 - Paranoia sets in for 43 year old man in Ohio"

 

[NellaBean]

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ummmm why did you never show me those two? I like them both dang you.

LH, that is my teenage "project" blue brahma rooster. He hsa 3 matching hens.....one solid blue, one blue with copper on neck and one a light blue (exactly the same as the light blue cochin roo I brought to the July sale). I think I posted pix of them around here somewhere.

That little lavender hen is tiny....and a loudmouth. She also tends to pick fights with the bigger girls. Maybe she is shadow's SISTER. Lol.

Ink, sorry to hear about your girl. I had a random death like that. Just found one in the nestbox one day. She was teenage and was perfectly fine the day before. Very strange. And sad.

 

[Serrin]

Knox, you are in the one, and possibly, only place where each and every one of us understands and has experienced first hand, what you're going through right now.

If it's any consolation at all, we've shared your pain far more times than any of us cares to count. Cyn is right. Be thankful that it was sudden. Having had a number of my precious girls go each way, suddenly and lingering, I can tell you, a sudden death is far preferable to a long and agonizing death, in which you are powerless to alter the outcome. On those occasions, if I had been able to bring myself to do the act, I would have ended their suffering.

Patsy was with you for just a short time, Knox, but in that time, she lived fully and happily. She had a wonderful home with a wonderful Chicken Dad, who loved her, cared for her, and made every day special for her. She has you to thank for that.

Don't ever be ashamed of the tears you shed. You're a part of this family that understands just how special these small feathered creatures are. And dang it! It hurts when they leave us. I cry like a baby, every time I loose one of my girls. [haven't lost one of my boys yet,

thank heavens

] I cry because I loved them. Where is the shame in that? Nonexistent in my book. So, please, cry for Patsy. It shows that you loved her!

You know what you need to do now Knox? You need to go out and get yourself 20 more little Del's and give them the same great home that you gave to Patsy.

I hear Kathy has a whole incubator full of them!

 

[Inkheart]

Thank you so much for your words! I felt almost silly crying over a chicken - but she was my most beautiful and buxom gal - and just a show stopper out in the field and she was just laying there all flat - really got to me - And then i was mad at the other hens cause they were carrying on like niothing was wrong - wheres our treat? Once again thank you so much that made me feel alot better - you are truly kind to say those things!

 

[Cetawin]

Inkheart I am so sorry about Patsy bless their hearts, everything in the genetics tells them to "not act sick or weak" because then they are vulnerable and they are prey so they hide it untilo they cannot hide it any longer...sadly most of the time when we notice something wrong, it is too late to help.

Cry all you want too...we have lost 5 recently and many tears have been shed...2 to laying issues (both coming in to lay) and 3 to parasites before we could figure out what it was. That boy in my avatar...he died of either heat stroke or heart attack and I cried for days, could not sleep and was a mess...he passed on July 14th and I still miss him.

 

[Inkheart]

Quote:
Thanks so much - that is what floored me so fast and abruptly- i had read a quote on here somewhere once - "Where you have licestock - there will be "dead stock" so i have kept that in the back of my mind- this season is tough for me as i dont have my mom anymore - and now this? GRRRRR lol i wil lbe fine - thanks again . Never knew i could love a chicken so much!

 

[Serrin]

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That's probably the one thing I hear the most from folks who discover the joy of having chickens in their family: The surprise they feel at discovering just how much this little ball of feathers has come to mean to them, and how unexpectedly devastated they feel at the loss of one. I don't think there are very many people who are immune to the charms of a small backyard flock. Going on five years into this adventure with mine, and sometimes I surprise even myself with how deep the feelings go. If natural disaster were knocking on the front door, I'd be running out the back door to make sure my chickens were all safe and accounted for!

Yeah, it's surprising, ain't it Knox, just how strong the attachment becomes in such a very short time. I feel sorry for folks who cannot experience this simple, yet also complex relationship we have with our birds. Their lives are so lacking on account of it, in my humble opinion.

Just hang in there Knox. It hurts like heck right now, and it will for awhile yet to come. But eventually, you will get to the point where all you remember are the good times.

I lost my Gimpy Girl a little over a year ago now. I still miss her sweet voice and the way she would come running to me every time I came outside. I didn't even need to call her. She'd spy me from across the yard and do that hilarious flap/run/fly thing of hers, just to be with me. Ever see an 8 and a half pound chicken try to run fast?!?!

Yup! She was a special girl too. I'll always remember her and always miss her.