Last week we had to have Bonny chicken put to sleep, and as I was looking through my photos of her, I realised that in many of them, she was hanging around with her pal Bunty. Bunty went missing earlier this year, and as we always hoped she'd come back, I never did a memorial post. At this point, I think we need to accept that she's gone, and so here we'll remember both Bonny and Bunty together. Bonny and Bunty, along with Chippy, who we lost last year, were our only batch of chickens who haven't been rescues. We got them in June 2020 as point of lay hens, four months old. They were timid and jumpy, and our existing rescue ladies must have seemed quite intimidating. They soon got into the swing of things, and Bonny soon tried an experimental sit on my leg - something she never repeated. Bonny was always quiet and shy, always wanting to be with the others, but often at a little distance. Except with Bunty - they were very close and often found marauding off somewhere together. All chickens love digging, but it really was Bonny's special thing. She loved digging. She even managed to put her shyness aside and get close to us if we had a spade and there was half a chance of a worm. Her legs were so powerful, and if she wasn't with the others at the end of the day, she'd usually be digging in the woodchip pile or the windbreak, looking for critters. Bunty was less cautious, but still never got as comfortable with us as the rescues usually do. She did make an exception for showing her disdain for the chicken lockdown last winter though. We got these three young chickens because we thought they'd last longer, and be a core flock while as the rescues came and went. It hasn't worked out like that. Chippy died at just over a year old, then Bunty went missing a few months later, and now Bonny has gone two, at just two and a half. Most of our rescues have been older than that when they've died. Still, they had a good life while they were here, I hope. Here's Bunty. And here's Bonny. As far as we knew, Bunty wasn't ill, but she mustn't have felt like herself to just wander off one day and not come back. I can only assume she tucked herself away somewhere, and then was found by a predator. I hope it was quick. Bonny did get ill towards the end. She laid more and more lash eggs, never a good sign, and the vet gave her a hormonal implant. She looked like she might be improving, then went rapidly downhill, lost a lot of weight, and started losing her balance. It seemed that she had a tumour (at least as far as you can tell without surgery). I'm glad her last few days were spent wandering around the hay field. So goodbye Bonny-o, and goodbye Bunty-o. We miss you both already. It's never easy saying goodbye, and even harder when they're still young, it seems so unfair.
2 Comments
Amanda Schofield
10/9/2022 08:08:57 pm
So sorry to hear the sad news. Bonny and Bunty had a wonderful life with you. Sending hugs xx 😥
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TDQKaren
18/9/2022 05:26:02 pm
What a lovely tribute and your photos show just how at home they felt. Bless you Bunty and Bonny xx
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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