I am so sorry Cyn!! She had the best home any chicken could ask for!
Thanks, Isaiah.
At least she passed in comfort and well cared for.
She didn't even kick. Looked like her heart just stopped where she was sleeping in front of the heat lamp. Poor little Xander, though. He can sort of see up into that cage, the one where my late Zane used to live, from his roost shelf on the other side of the divider wall. He let Tom rub his chest, something he just never holds still for normally.
Deacon, Lucy and Dottie all died there in recent months and Xander was upset every time. In the new barn, we'll have a cage on the wall for situations like this but not right beside poor, sweet little Xander's pen. He cried and whined and whimpered when Deacon passed, but Deacon flapped just a little. Neither Lucy nor Dottie did, but the other birds always know,
always. They can be so dignified when witnessing the death of another.
Remember, she raised Atlas and his sisters. Tom took her body to Atlas's coop to show him. He started to drop his wing and dance for her then immediately stopped. Then, they all got quiet. I think Druscilla will miss her most. They seemed to be close to each other, though I'm sure they didn't know they were mother and daughter.
On a side note, I went back and read the story of the original Atlas, the son of my late Suede, who my current Atlas is named for. Wow, a story that will bring tears to your eyes and now, I see that my own Atlas is living up to the name so far.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-without-the-heart-of-a-breeder#post_13461264
