Missing
May 9, 2008In a change from the scheduled post I bring sad news that ‘Thing Two’ has died.
Now the serious chicken keepers may pour scorn on such sentimentality; but I have to admit I was rather fond of the old bird. She has been living out a comfortable retirement from egg production, getting a bit slower and detached from the rest of the flock as the weeks passed, but never the less she seemed to be happy. I had been making sure she got her fair share of food, chickens can be ruthless about ‘pecking orders’ and getting the biggest share of the nosh.
I miss her about the place, she had taken to spending her day near the house, in the herb bed, basking in the sun by the rosemary bush if the weather was fair or seeking shelter under a conifer if it rained. I think Moss the dog misses her, Thing Two’s favourite position was just out of the reach of Moss, but not out of her sight, it drove Moss mad that she couldn’t get past the gate to round her up, Thing Two was indifferent to Moss’s frantic barking, however I don’t think the neighbours will miss Moss barking so much.
Thing Two failed to turn up at the hen house at dusk on Wednesday night, I searched around for her but couldn’t find her I thought she must have ben picked off by a fox, but eventually I found her on Thursday, down by the compost heap, it seems to have been a case of death by ‘natural causes’ rather than the fox, I am relieved about that, and very relived that she hadn’t got to the stage where she became ill rather than old and we had to humanely kill her.
I have just found your site and enjoyed reading your posts. I am sorry to hear about your hen Thing Two. it’s amazing how attached we get to hens. My hen - Hatty is a real character and she would be sorely missed, so I can sympathise.
Sara from farmingfriends
Well, that’s a good way to go, and it sounded imminent anyway. She tried to organise her own funeral, bless her. That’s where I too would like my final resting place to be, in the compost heap. (My ashes that is, I know you can’t put meat on the compost heap, or in the green wheelie bins.
) It seems so right. Much better for the soil than even a bamboo casket. I’m sure you’ll miss Thing Two. I am still thinking of getting some hens myself. I was really captivated by my friend’s hens when I visited them last week. They seem like real characters.
Oh RIP Thing Two…we lost one of our ex-batts over a month ago, poor old bird. I say ’stick it’ to the serious chicken keepers that might pour scorn on us. We’re doing nothing wrong by getting emotionally attached to our animals. I think hens have no qualms about going to ‘the other side’, they just get on with it, and I imagine she went peacefully and with dignity, which is more than she would have got otherwise if she’d been left in the hands of the ‘commercial’ henkeepers.
RIP Thing Two - glad she had a nice last few days and a peaceful end. I too am v sentimental about my hens, I don’t know what I’ll do when they get old.
Hi folks thanks for stopping by, it was the best ending we could have hoped for really.
I’m sorry about Thing Two. It sounds like a good way for her to go, much better than the treatment she would have received in the commercial places.