The start of May was grim, and I barely took any photos at home at all. We were reeling from the loss of both Sunshine and Budgie at the end of April, and in early May, Bessie became ill. Bessie was almost six years old, and in the four and a half years she'd lived with us, we'd brought her back from the brink of death several times with antibiotics and hormonal implants. This time was different. She didn't seem to have an egg-related problem, and we'd already decided that, given her grand age, we didn't want to put her through another week of catching her twice a day and feeding her tablets, traumatic for all of us. She seemed to have had a stroke, and we made the difficult decision to have her put to sleep. I'll do a special memorial post for her separately - she was such a special chicken, and we are very sad. We'd already decided that, once Bessie died, we'd pass the two younger ladies on to another home. Yet another hard decision, but chickens are much happier in a flock and I really didn't want to end up with one on her own. We'd only had Skippy and Daisy for a few weeks, and while they'd started to calm down after their horrid early life in the battery cages, they hadn't fully settled in here yet. I put a call out in a hen rehoming group, and found them another loving home to go to, with a small flock of rescue hens and a family that will dote on them. Driving them to their new home and leaving them there was not a fun experience. The family was very kind, and I have no doubt they will have a good life there, but giving away a pet isn't something I ever want to have to repeat. So that's the end of chicken-keeping for us, for now, at least. We've said we'll reconsider next spring, but personally I don't think this is something I can go through again. The pain of losing them, and the distress of months of avian flu lockdown each winter, is too much. But we'll see when the time comes. In other news, I finally finished building my greenhouse shelves, including a low bench that I can sit on when the weather is a little inclement. This was the perfect idea, and I've spent a lot of time out here already (in fact, I'm out here right now, typing this!) Right at the end of the month, I managed to plant a few seeds. I have no idea whether any of them will have time to grow properly, but I did want to try.
There's no other homestead news to report for May, and no other homestead photos. The start of the month was spent mourning the end of our chicken adventures, and then we abandoned the homestead to go to the seaside for a while, which I'll post about separately. There was also IronMay, a charity exercise challenge which took up a lot of time and energy - but again, a story for another post...
4 Comments
Chris Murray
8/6/2023 07:51:02 am
Pleased to see your posts, though I am sorry it has been such a miserable time for you. I missed your monthly round ups.
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Thanks Chris. I've missed posting! I always mean to post more often but never quite get round to it. I got a new laptop and have to deal with photos in a different way - it's more fiddly and pits me off... Must try to find a better way. Thanks for popping in, always nice to know people are reading, I often think I'm just talking to myself! 😊
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TDQKaren
8/6/2023 09:27:27 am
So sorry it’s been such a bad start to the year. Glad you managed a trip to the seaside and hope that your year improves. You certainly gave your wee chickens a great life while they were with you and I hope that brings some comfort x
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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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