Dolly, you took your final flight
A local farmer reached out to us about one of their hens who she thought was blind and she asked us to take her. Because the farmer thought Dolly was blind she was saved from slaughter. Dolly had a surprise for all of us when we saw that she actually was sure sighted.
Every chicken has a unique personality and it is a joy to get to know each one. This was my first introduction to Ameraucanas. When Dolly joined our flock, I always thought she looked like a chicken hawk, with her slim body and regal head. And hawkish she was with her trait of always wanting to be roosting up high.
She had many feathered friends
Juniper, Fern, Arthur
I’m so sorry one of our volunteers discovered Dolly and so much blood early that Friday morning. Because of the amount of blood found in Dolly’s stall I believe Dolly suffered from a prolapse which is caused from egg laying and then fly strike hit. Fly strike happens in the blink of an eye and can be fatal. The earliest vet appointment available that day was 2:30 at Langley Animal Clinic. Chris nursed her all morning and early afternoon, but Dolly passed away before making it to the vet.
Always in the back of my mind are the dreaded eggs that we collect at the farm every day knowing that each egg takes a huge toll on the hen’s body. Dolly’s blue eggs easily stood out from the others and I hoped that Dolly would stop laying eggs. But even at age four we kept finding blue eggs in her nesting box.
Many people have asked me why I take the eggs home, cook them up and give them back to the birds to eat. The reason is that the eggs have depleted their bodies of much needed nutrients so why not give the nutrients back to them? It’s the least we can do to make up for the horrible selective breeding that makes them lay way too many eggs a year.
I wrote about my thoughts on eggs here:
https://www.kindredfarm.ca/what-do-you-do-with-the-eggs/
Dolly’s loss and each of these losses at the farm take a toll on each one of us. The best way to get through this time is to be kind to yourself and each other.
