SADNESS IN THE HEN HOUSE

Today is a day of sadness... Today we buried our sweet Pip...our blue egg laying Ameraucana hen...It is never easy to lose a pet...whether it be dog..cat...or farm animal... today... in my case a pet chicken...Sweet Pip...also know as Pip-A-Roo died late this morning in the company of Winslow Homer. Yesterday morning Pip appeared fine...later in the day however, I went to let the girls out for an afternoon romp and noticed Pip remained in the nesting box making odd sounds...At first I thought she was in the process of egg laying..( my girls do make odd sounds during their egg laying)...so I gave her some privacy and went out into the yard. Slowly she made an appearance but remained in the coop run and just sat. It was then that I realized something was drastically wrong. Her breathing was labored and the muff on her face was clearly "pecked off". I cleaned my girl up and brought her into the house to the chicken infirmary. Winslow stayed by her cage keeping a watchful eye on her. I administered drops of water via a syringe and began to massage her crop... I could not feel anything hard or out of the ordinary. I then gave her a couple of drops of mineral oil massaging once again...I firmly believe there was something blocking her airway and I nor DH could dislodge it...I had purchased their organic feed earlier in the week and the feed store did not have the usual mash... just pellets...so I opted for pellets...my girls have never consumed pellet grain before...I am wondering if Pip somehow got a pellet lodged in her airway...my hens noticed Pip's odd behavior before I and began pecking at her. Chickens can be cruel...even highly pampered chickens such as mine. I feel terribly guilty... I was unable to help her in her time of need. Pip is now buried in the flower garden...beside my dear hen named Georgia. We will miss Pip dearly here at Dog Trot Farm... she was a very sweet girl, would come when I called her name and "scooch down" to be picked up. She was the very first girl to lay an egg in the flower box and also on the outdoor grill. Dear Pip...please know that you were loved.... a favorite here at Dog Trot Farm...and thank you for all the wonderful blue eggs and all the surprise egg findings...we will miss you...and Winslow Homer too...