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Sad news

RED

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I was thinking of including my sad news on my next sewing post, but I think this deserves its own post. Yesterday, we had another bobcat attack. This time it got Chickie von Poopenstein. It didn’t take her away, but her neck was badly injured. We weren’t sure what the injury really was, but her neck was twisted and she couldn’t hold it up. We were hoping it was just really sore as we couldn’t see or feel any puncture wounds.

We made her comfortable in our shower and hoped she would heal well in the night. Sadly, that wasn’t the case and she was still suffering and was worse this morning. DD and I made the decision to end her suffering.

After dressing her, it looks like she had an open wound where her neck met her wing. I regret keeping her in pain as long as we did, but we were hoping for the best.

Von P., I thank you for the years of entertainment, soft pets, and delicious eggs you gave us. You are sorely missed.

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This leaves Caroline as our last remaining chicken. Unfortunately, chickens need a flock so we are working on re-homing her. Caroline holds a special place in my heart as she was the first chicken to ever really love me. As a chick, she would snuggle against me and make cooing sounds. She’s less love-y now, but only because she’s more interested in scratching around the backyard with the limited time she has for free ranging. It breaks my heart to give her away, but I know she will do better in a flock than alone. We gave them all the best life we could.

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I’ll miss the eggs. I’ll miss the laughs as they fight over treats and run around the yard like little football players. I’ll miss the texts and pictures of friends sending me funny chicken stuff because I was the chicken lady. I’ll miss them photo-bombing my backyard blog shoots. I’ll even miss their mouthiness when they’re driving me nuts with worry the neighbors will complain.

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We won’t have any more chickens while we’re in Arizona. I’m hoping one day we can move and I can have the joy of owning chickens again. People make fun of us, but they really are special animals with real personalities. They’re smarter than you think they are.

I love you, ladies. Thanks for the memories.

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35 thoughts on “Sad news”

  2. Sorry to hear your sad news. We stopped owning chickens last summer. We lost one through old age and one of our little Banthams got attacked by a rogue dog who got in our garden. Our dogs ignored them so don’t think the chickens knew to be alarmed and run!! After that the remaining chickens were always frightened and stopped laying. They got rehomed to a family with young children who would have them to cuddle (they were very affectionate chickens).

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    1. Thank you and I’m sorry to hear about your chickies. I’m sure your remaining chickens are getting the cuddles they love with their new home. Caroline was re-homed today and we received pictures showing she’s incorporating into her new family well. She’ll have a big roo to keep her safe. ❤

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  5. So sad to hear such news! My cousins had coyote/ raccoon attacks on their chickens so they had to build an enclosure for them, and the animal somehow got in! Thankfully the animal seems to have disappeared. I hope you can have pet chickens again someday. 🙂 best wishes.

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    1. Thank you! It’s awful how many creatures try and get to chickens! We would have a hawk try and swoop down to grab our girls but they were faster and were able to take cover under our low-lying grapefruit tree. I’m just sad we couldn’t save von P (and 2 years ago, Pretty Girl) fast enough with the bobcat. 😦

      I hope we have chickens again someday, too. They really are great entertainment and sweet little things. ❤

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    1. Thank you – I’ll definitely miss that. Lots of people would ask how our chickens were – I’ll be sad we can’t have those conversations anymore. Thank God I still have my boys to keep me company and for me to love ❤

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  12. This is so awful and sad; I’m so sorry, Red. 😦 Be kind to yourself–about Von P., about Caroline, about the others you’ve lost. You did the best you could for them, and I think your ladies knew that: animals are perceptive that way.

    I hope you get to live the Chicken Lady dream again someday: it is/was obvious that you are a great chicken mama. ❤

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    1. Thanks so much, Mads. ❤ I always said chickens are great pets but they come with a lot of heartache because of all the predators and they're susceptible to lots of illnesses (simple biology and all). All of my girls were/are hearty till the end. Buckbeak is probably still kicking it out there in her new-ish home and Caroline looks like she's integrating well into her new home today. Von P. even tried fighting for survival until the end. She tried eating even though she was badly hurt. I know she probably wanted to stick around for us, but her time had come. ;_;

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  14. So sad to hear. We had to have one of our chickens put down a few years ago, and it was really, really upsetting. They get into your hearts, the crazy little things, don’t they? Sending love. Glad to hear that Caroline is getting along OK.

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    1. Oh that’s so sad! I’m sorry to hear about your chickie. I tell people chickens are nothing but heartache in the end, but yet you still want to have them. Crazy little things is right! 🙂 We had good memories with our ladies and it looks like Caroline will continue to make happy memories with her new family. ❤

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    1. Thank you. They’re definitely quirky for sure! We’re super bummed about the lack of backyard entertainment and lack of eggs once we go through the rest of ours. We do have a friend that gives us eggs from his ladies sometimes and I guess we can always visit his flock when we get lonely for some chicken fun. He’s had some bobcat issues, too, and have lost a few throughout the years. Arizona is a tough place for a chicken!

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  18. I am so sorry to read this news. Once, I met a chicken named Gourd and I absolutely fell in love with her. If you do move, I hope you move to a chicken castle free of evil predators and can begin your coop again!

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    1. Thank you!! Chickens are very special (and silly) creatures. We miss having our ladies but now we don’t have predators roaming our neighborhood as much so everyone can be safe.

      Gourd is a cute name for a chicken! My friend made me a gourd that she carved and painted chickens on… very fitting! 😉

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