Mild winter earth is
easy to dig; maple and
azalea bush wait.
Victoria’s Stone by Azalea & Japanese Maple
We lost our first chicken this past weekend. She’d been noticeably unwell since about Thanksgiving, but we think her condition had been going on for at least a year, when she started drinking a lot of water and laying peewee eggs. We treated her for the typical parasites and infections one finds in backyard chickens, but the other two girls had no symptoms, so we weren’t surprised that she didn’t really improve. We finally took her to the vet, who said it was something more serious, e.g., ovarian cancer, heart disease, kidney disease. We weren’t going to spend the $$ to get a full diagnosis because we knew we weren’t going to treat her beyond offering comfort.
So, for the past couple weeks she lived in the garage (actually on and off for the past couple months). She didn’t seem like she was in pain, but she couldn’t eat much and didn’t seem to be getting nutrients from what she did eat. She just got weaker and quieter. She finally died Saturday. We were glad to be home with her when it happened, and we found a nice spot to bury her in the garden.
She was our little sweetie! Goodbye, Victoria!
Victoria, Our First Chicken
Karin S. Wiberg 
Karin, so sorry for you! If you loved your Victoria like I love my doggies, I know you’re feeling a lot of pain. Funny … Trina mentioned last night that we should get together with you and Chris. Let’s do it!
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Thanks, Harry. There were a lot of tears over the weekend–mostly because it was so hard to watch her fade away. We don’t think she was suffering, but it was a relief when she finally died.
Yes, time to get together!
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I am so sorry to hear about your beloved Victoria! My condolences. She was the start and the heart of the flock!
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Thanks, Leslie. I forgot how hard it was to lose a pet. 😦
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She was our funny girl! I’d forgotten how hard it was to dig a grave for a pet.
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She is in a good spot though, George! I am glad we were there at the end.
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Reblogged this on Chris Kafer.
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So sorry to hear about you losing one of your beloved babies! It is so hard to lose loved ones and to watch them go is even more difficult. Hang in there Sister and Chris!
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Thanks, Sister. We will miss her beard and hobbit feet. 🙂
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Sad news, but I’m happy she wasn’t alone when going to get her new wings.
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We were too. We had been out all day and got home shortly before she died. Even felt the last breath go out. It was sad and hard to watch, and actually a relief when she finally died. Thanks for the note!
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Death of the first hen.
Most don’t understand the loss.
Painful none the less…
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Thank you for the condolence haiku. 🙂 At least we can say she had a good life (spoiled pet chicken!)…
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