Bye Bye Black Chook

One of our chickens died today.

Vera, or Black Chook as she was more recently known, had been off colour for a few weeks. I was expecting to find her dead a week ago today. In preparation I took BB off to nursery and came home ready to deal with the body - but she lived on! With the aid of a bit of poultry spice she really perked up - I thought she might live on.

Vera, in her early days

Today however, much less prepared, and with BB in tow, I headed into the chook pen to feed and water my girls, only to find that Black Chook was laying dead under the hen house. I set BB to work filling the feeder and tried to discretely move the body to the compost (a temporary measure - I do not plan to compost her, in case you're wondering!). BB noticed, had a slightly puzzled look as I dropped the stiff bird, and then got on with his task. I said "bye bye Black Chook" just to mark the event, but he didn't seem to notice that either (usually he would have waved). Hopefully he has witnessed his first death with no scars.

I can't help but feel that this might be a significant event. Vera was my favourite of the three, I identified with her. She is the one that laid an enormous egg on the day I gave birth to BB - I felt it was out of sympathy! She stopped laying around the time I began to think that perhaps my own egg producing days were over too. Hopefully I have a few more years of life in me yet though.

Another depressing sign of my old age was when I called in at the Doctors' surgery yesterday with BB and asked for an appointment for myself too. The receptionist looked at me at me quizzically and asked if I still had periods!

Really!

Do I look that old?

I have just had my roots done so that tell-tale grey line wasn't even there - and I don't really have wrinkles!

Ah well - I will continue to try and defy age for as long as I can - what more can one do!