Our Lone Survivor

Oh boy! Chicken farming is definitely not for the faint of heart. That's our lesson learned in a nutshell. They are totally fun and delightful and of course produce the most delicious eggs BUT so much of their survival falls outside of our control as we've learned.

We lost another chicken this week; Zoe. Thankfully not to a predator but to what we can only assume was an illness. For the last month or so she's been a bit off. Not producing eggs (which is not totally unusual in the winter) and alternating between her normal perky self and sleepy and lethargic.

Since we got the chickens back in October I feel like I've always been able to hear Zoe breathe. Almost a bit labored. But that definitely got worse in the last month and was followed by little squeaks here and there, which I eventually figured were sneezes. We assumed she was dealing with some kind of "chicken cold"?! Figured it would eventually pass but that ended up not being the case.

This was the day before she died.

Sadie snuck in through the kitchen door but Zoe's in the back pecking away like normal.

She died Wednesday night. We found her the next day in the coop.  :(  Marc actually found her and graciously saved us (and especially the girls) from seeing her.

After only 5 months we're down from three to one!! Sadie thankfully has always seemed to be the strongest of the three and that hasn't wavered at all in the last week. I wasn't sure what to expect. Do chickens grieve? Would she not like being alone? Would we be able to tell? Thankfully she seems completely normal and content! Phew! I was not prepared for this emotional roller-coaster when we decided to become chicken owners. Little did I know.

Sadie posing on the window sill.

Hoping that Sadie will continue to live out a long and full life with us.