Gold Dust, our sweet Buff Orpington hen, died yesterday. We had her in "hen hospice" in Aubrey's bedroom, near the brooder where a dozen 2-week old chicks are peeping away. She'd started going blind in one eye last year, but still was an awesome mama hen who successfully brooded and raised three new chicks we bought at the feed store (we don't have a rooster). This year she finally went completely blind, and even though we had her separated in a little "apartment coop" of her own so the other hens wouldn't harass her and she could find her food and water easily, she grew very thin and finally stopped eating and drinking altogether.
On Saturday we decided to bring her in the house and make her cozy in a little box filled with straw. We loved on her a little, and then put her near the brooder where she could get a little warmth from the heat lamp. When I checked on her late Sunday afternoon, I could see she was barely still breathing, and by the evening she had died.
I know a lot of people would have said "Stew pot!" as soon as she began going blind. But this was a hen who would jump up and settle down in our laps to be petted when we sat on chairs in the coop to watch "chicken TV". She faithfully raised our next generation of chickens for us, and her gentle disposition (Buff Orpingtons are known as the Golden Retrievers of the chicken world) made her a favorite.
Aubrey demonstrated compassion for an "imperfect" life form by caring
for her blind chicken so diligently for so long, and I like the lesson
that provided far more than the lesson of efficiency would have taught.
She might become a pragmatic rancher one day, and not have the luxury of
doting on a blind hen. But I'm glad she had the opportunity to express
her compassion for Gold Dust, our perfect imperfect hen.
You did eggsactly the right thing! This is why I love you.
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