Beautiful Aussie.

by Connie Davis
(Chesnee SC. )

Memorial to my sweet Aussie.

My husband and I decided to get some backyard chickens two years ago. We worked hard building a coop and a safe pen from predators.

We decided to get a mixed flock. Aussie was our black Australorp. A strikingly beautiful bird. She quickly became my favorite, although I love them all.

Aussie loved fresh corn on the cob and chicken soup as my husband called it, which was just vegetable broth and fresh herbs. Aussie was crazy about watermelon. I quickly had all my little chickees spoiled.

Aussie was the largest chicken in the flock. Aussie was the "mother hen" of the family. She would fuss at "the girls" to get in the coop and to squat down so I could pick her up and the way she used to jump up in my raised flower beds and commence to digging and scratching throwing dirt everywhere. She was such a sweet bird.

Yesterday evening I came home from work and let my 5 little chickees out of their pen to free range in the yard for a while. This is my usual routine when I get home from work.

All 5 of my chickens were enjoying foraging for bugs in the yard. We went inside the house to get some fresh zucchini to give them for a treat. They all ran up to the back porch in anticipation of their treat.

I noticed that Aussie was walking slower than normal. I watched her walk back into the pen. I followed her into the pen. Then she just layed down with her head went limp. Her breathing was labored.

I picked her up, and held her in my arms to carry her over to the porch to check to see what was going on with her. She fell limp in my arms. I laid laid her down and tried to prop her head up. My husband was talking to her telling her to fight through it. Telling her "we're her Aussie".

We just didn't know what happened to her. She had been fine. Our other chicken Sussie knew there was something wrong with Aussie and kept trying to check on her. It was so sad. But there wasn't anything we could do. It happened too fast. She was taking her final breaths. Her sweet eyes that had been so bright and beautiful closed, and she was gone.

We felt so helpless to help her. I wish we could have saved her. I couldn't understand what was going on because she hadn't shown any signs of being sick.

We will miss her so much! And so will all the rest of her friends in the flock.

Rest in peace foraging freely in heaven with Jesus. We love you Aussie❤.

You are always in our hearts.