Wednesday 20 May 2015

Farewell Chicky Babe


Today was a cold day, today was a sad day, early this morning we found one of our trusty chicken dead.

Earlier in the week our chicky babe was looking sick her beak was down and she looked like she couldn't walk, Farmer Joe said to me

"I think the chicken is on her way out if she doesn't improve we will have to put her down".

With these words I started to cry and felt terribly sad, you see we have had these chickens for 4 years, she was one of the original chickens, and she represented what we are striving for, our little urban farm. I remembered when we got her from the farm produce store at Dayboro, the old man helped us choose the chickens, he said make sure they eat plenty of greens and give them lots of hugs, so we did.


This chicken brought us so much happiness and made me cranky at times, she made me happy with the wonderful eggs we would get every morning, I love how she runs around the backyard or when she would sit on the outdoor couch and I would yell at her

" Hello!!!! get off the couch you are a chicken"

She made me cranky when she would poop on the tiles and I would ask myself and her why the tiles when there was so much grass around or when she ate my rose bushes, that was not a happy moment.

Yes she pooped everywhere, yes she ate and scratched everything in her path, yes she made me cranky at times but mostly she made me happy, she made all of us happy.



With her passing it made me realise that even though we live in our little urban farm I don't have the resilience of a farmer, life and death on the farm is just part of life but here at the Whitecottage our chickens are our pets, more than animals that provide us with eggs every morning.

Farmer Joe told me "You knew this day would come" but I thought to myself no I didn't think this day would come... so soon.

I made a vet appointment for tomorrow so they could help her go in a humane way but she passed away during the night in her own home.

As I write this I feel terribly sad and now faced with the fact that I have to break the bad news to the munchkins and I am now faced with telling them about life and death.

I hope I'll do it justice.

 

 


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