Well, just to keep the depression going, we unexpectedly lost Jack, our 8 year old
Barred Rock rooster last night. He and Wild Child were a couple, the
grand old couple of the flock. He died suddenly but quietly in his sleep less than 24 hours after Wild Child went, and we
buried him right next to Wild Child in a bed of roses just like hers. He had been clearly distressed and depressed, searching for her...I think if it's possible to die from a broken heart, Jack just may have.
The
rest of the flock is mostly standing around staring at each other or
wandering aimlessly about the yard in clumps. They look at each other
as if to say, "Well, what do we do now?" In two short days they have
lost their father, protector and lover in Jack, and their mother,
matriarch and guardian in Wild Child. The flock dynamic has been thrown
into turmoil with no clear successors to either the Head Roo or Head
Hen posts.
We are trying to keep them company as much as we can.
When we go out into the yard they group around us more than they
normally do, even the normally more standoffish birds. I'm trying to
adjust to the loss of two long-time and well-loved pets. Anyone who has
ever had an older pet, no matter what kind, knows how incredibly cool
and laid-back they are to have around. I also can't help but look at
the others and wonder who is next. Several of our chickens are older
and recent events have left me gun-shy, trying to steel myself to
finding another dead bird. It's no fun.
Jack was our household
symbol. We use his image and his name in our email, our Internet
dealings...so many things. Emotionally I'm a train wreck, but that is,
indeed, the cost of keeping pets. It's just hard when such a big bill
comes due all at once.
This has not been a good week.
