Saturday, April 07, 2007

Last Leg

We lost our last White Leghorn yesterday. At just over three years old, she was our longest-lived chicken, and the last hen from the original flock. She never came back to roost at night, and was presumably a meal for a predator with babies to feed.

I looked up every synonym for sad, but couldn't find a word to explain the feeling I had when I opened an egg carton and saw her white eggs still in there.


Catbox stuffing, in better days.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry about your bad news. I realize it was just a chicken, but I also understand how attachments are developed.

Shoot, I have four children, and every now and then I still wonder how they are doing. (Why don't they call their father more?)

pablo
www.roundrockjournal.com

Omelay said...

sorry for your loss, I hope you can have a happy Easter though.

R.Powers said...

Sorry.
My banty flock is down to 3 from a dozen or so.
It's tough being a chicken.

R.Powers said...

Are you in Californialabama?
I posted at 10:25 am EST.

Anonymous said...

he end of an era :( We just moved our flock out to pasture - I have my fingers crossed that they will all still be there tonight - the vultures have been circling, but so far no hawks.

robin andrea said...

That is sad news. Seeing those white eggs in the carton really does convey that sense of loss.

Maktaaq said...

This is sad - I remember the very first posts about these guys. But I hope you have a happy Easter nevertheless. (That part about looking at the eggs was sad, too.)

dmmgmfm said...

I'm sorry. *hugs*

Rurality said...

Thanks everybody. I should have picked a happier topic right before Easter I guess!

We're down to 7 chickens now (5 hens) from over 30. Since we didn't get any new chicks we may not have any left at all this time next year.

FC the time has been off lately but I'm not sure why. I'll have to see if it's something I can adjust.

lime said...

dang...

cyndy said...

Oh my, I'm sorry...I once had a Leghorn I was very attached to...

Alan said...

I really hate losing birds, especially to predators.

My wife says I take it too personally, but they're my birds and I'm responsible for them.

.....Alan.

meresy_g said...

Sad is the word. I can imagine how you would feel. Poor chooky. Did you make something extra special with those eggs?

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss... **hugs**

Cathy said...

Sometimes a single word just isn't adequate so we write a line of poetry to express the heart's longing and pain. That's what you did when you mentioned the egg carton and her white eggs. Tears are stinging my eyes. Sending you a hug all the way from Ohio.

Rurality said...

Thanks y'all. We've been at 8 chickens for a while now so it's hard to count to seven now before we close them up and night, and realize that they're all home that are coming home...

Meredith, hubby made deviled eggs for Easter. I'm not eating a lot of eggs now because of the diet, but they sure were good.

I used to become very emotional every time we lost a chicken. I cried my eyes out over the very first one (who lingered for a week or two with an injury). Now I don't cry, but it had been a while since we'd lost one and it just felt... I don't know. I really couldn't come up with the proper word.

KFarmer said...

sad empty nest? :(

I don't like it when I loose one either.

Trailhead said...

I'm so sorry to hear this. While I have no chickens myself, I certainly have Chicken Envy. But this part sounds not so fun. My condolences.

lisa said...

Sorry for your loss! Much as I like predators, the whole "circle of life" thing can be a real drag. A couple years ago, I had a pretty bantam rooster show up and dine on wild bird food for a few days...then I found a pile of his feathers...*sigh*.