We lost a hen today, one of the very best ever.
She was the regal, highly personable, indefatigable Red. I first wrote about her in this interview and have wanted to share more about her with you guys, but here we are. If you have been a visitor at the dirt-and-hooves Lazy W then you have probably noticed her plenty, though she wasn’t ever the sort of girl who craved cuddling, like Mia does. Instead, she was the mover and shaker. The kinetic energy, mission impossible personality who kept all the birds motivated.
Red was always the first person to rise and shine in the morning as well as the first to pull up a chair at the open grain bin. Usually she would just hop right in and help herself. I never once scolded her for this, because she always allowed me to retrieve enough for the others and never once pecked me. In recent days, she had even started allowing a certain rooster to join her.
She was such a woman of action that the only times Red wasn’t already waiting at the chicken yard gate at dawn, she was either laying an egg herself or dutifully sitting on a community clutch. But even then I could always touch her and hand feed her, multi-tasker that she was. She was all at once easy going and alert. This kind of approachability is not universal to all hens, folks, but I bet you know that.
Like I mentioned, Red was a very attentive brooder, sitting on anyone’s egg no matter the shape or color, and she was an excellent mother. My best guess is that in her Lazy W years she provided us with nearly two dozen live chicks. Tomato is in this group! Have you heard of Tomato? She’s also laid about seventy four million large, delicious green eggs. And aside from three or four little sickly days which were all easily remedied with standard home health care TLC, she was a healthy, vibrant bird. Strapping, even.
Red lived well past the expected life span for her breed, so while we are very sad she is gone, we are truly happy to celebrate her long, happy life. She seems to have died peacefully. When we said our silent goodbyes to each other she had sunshine on her feathers and clover in her belly.
I chose to bury her in the back field, halfway down the hill, at the site of the kids’ old playhouse. This is also where Jess chose to bury her beloved fish named Banana. Banana was a very good fish. Red was a very good chicken. And they were both deeply loved, so it’s fitting that they are buried near each other at a place where so much fun and creativity happened. Dusty, Mia, and Momma Goose all attended the burial.
Thank you, Red, for all of the life you brought the farm. Thank you for the wonderful, nutritious eggs which we have shared with so many loved ones. Thank you for all of those beautiful fluffy little babies, for the upbeat atmosphere and beauty you always provided, and for showing us that a person really can live fully right up to the last day. Rest in Peace. We love you.
Be Vibrant Like Red…
xoxoxoxo
I know it’s the circle of life, and it still makes me sad to lose a loved one, fowl or otherwise.
Thank you M. I know you love animals so much. She was a fancy fowl, and we loved her!
I once had a chicken named Henny Penny at this very same house we live in today. She would let me tote her around under my arm and she followed me around while I stepped in the big shadowy footsteps of my Grandfather through the garden. I’m so sorry for your loss, it doesn’t matter that she had feathers, she was still a good friend.
Thank you Tiff! Some animals are just extra special, and it sounds like Henny Penny was one of them. I hope I always have chickens near my garden! I never knew what I was missing before. xo
I’ve never really thought of a hen or chicken as a pet. I am so sad for you. I don’t know how you do it. I cried for a week ( I had to take off 2 days of work, no kidding) when I had to have my sweet little 13-year-old poodle to sleep because of cancer. Animals are so wonderful.
Oh I know what you mean Sabrina…companion animals are family members for sure. Very sorry for your loss too. With Red it helped a little bit that we had been expecting it, unlike those shocking losses. Recently we even joked now and then that she was living it up, kicking up her heels for her last springtime. We appreciated her every day she was still with us. (Thanks for visiting!)
I cried…this really touched me.
Love,
Rose
Oh Rose, I’m sorry to make you cry, and thank you for your sweetness. XO
So sad – I don’t know how you do it. I would get so attached to the animals and so saddened when they pass. How long did she live? You said she was past the life expectancy, but I don’t know what that is.
Yep, Handsome and I reflect frequently on the fact that the more animals we accumulate, the more death we will witness. But for sure it is more than balanced out by the life they provide, and the love. And it gives us a lot of motivation to give them the best possible life we can.
Red was around 10 years old, and her life expectancy (we believe) was only 8 years, though they are known to live even longer than Red did. She has lived here at the Lazy W for the last 4, and they were all healthy and happy. So we can be glad for that. But I have to admit that opening the coop today at dawn was way more painful than I expected. She’s usually right there at the front, and I really missed her.