Well, we said our goodbyes and gave our eulogies, sure that the White Hen, our 11-year-old White Hen, was dead. She disappeared three or four days ago, something she had never done before, and today, when we went outside to do the afternoon chores, she was right outside Maria’s studio eating fallen bird seed.
We can’t imagine what happened. She was glued to the other hens day and night, and they did everything together. Now that she is getting old, she may have wandered off in confusion and hid somewhere. Perhaps she went into the barn and forgot where the roost was. I suspect she is fading rapidly and got confused. The other two hens started pecking at her, which tells us she must be getting sick.
Chickens are awful to other sick chickens. To be sure, we put her in a stall in the barn, all by herself, with hay, food, and water. That will be her home for now. My friend Ed Gulley had chickens like that and kept them in their private stall so they could live peacefully. I just checked her, and she seemed pretty content with the food, water, and pile of hay.
Talk about a surprise! Yes….I would suspect she may have gotten confused/lost…..(in my past chicken experience this is not all that unusual at her age) but she is safe and sheltered now! I bet you couldn’t believe your eyes when she popped up like that! None of us know how many *tomorrows* we have….but she’s gotten a few more already!
Susan M
Wonderful news. Glad she has her own safe area!
Welcome home White Hen!
Dementia?
You mean me or her? 🙂 we don’t know
It’s nice to be reminded not to write off the old ones – including us!
Is she in the barn where Zip can guard her, too? How wonderful that she’s with such good caregivers.
Zip doesn’t guard things, he eats them, but he doesn’t bother the hen..
What a good thing . Now she can live out her days in peace and comfort