Rest In Peace Cheep Cheep

Cheep cheep was one of the most beautiful roosters I had ever seen. He was a beautiful Crevecoeur and bantam mix.

Sadly he was only two years old when he passed away yesterday.

He definitely had a personality of his own and always made me smile. We are saddened by his loss but we hope he’s in a better place now.

Sweet Lucille

by Kelly Rutherford
(Spokane, WA)

I am new to having chickens, just got started in June 2020 and Lucille was my very first silkie chicken.

Well I thought he was a hen when I got him at 5 days old! We got him and his sister Fluffy to be companions to my son's chicken Chirp, a sweet little Bielefelder that we got from a friend.

So Lucille was named after Lucille Ball because he had a big flood head like Lucille Ball's hairstyle back in the day!

It was love at first sight, I absolutely adored the sweet little trills he would make at night, along with his sister when nestling down for sleep. Sweetest sound I have ever heard!

You can imagine my surprise when I was expecting him to start laying an egg any day, and instead I started hearing a cockadoodledoo! My sweet girl was no longer a girl! I tried changing his name for a hot minute, but it didn't work! Lucille, was intact, Lucille regardless of his gender!

And man did he have the funniest little dance trying to impress the ladies! He would do this hilarious little sideways hopping shuffle dance, diagonally towards them! Best. Thing. Ever!

I miss him. I had one day of warning that he wasn't feeling well. I had some antibiotics from the vet from a previous visit that I had taken him in when he had been ill, so I busted those out, and also gave him some electrolytes, had him stay inside for the night and the next day he seemed fine!

I let him have a wonderful day free ranging out with his ladies and made the bad choice of letting him stay in the coop that night. I should have brought him in and given him more medicine and electrolytes.

But it is too late now, and I don't know for sure if that would have made a difference.

Either way, when we let them out in the morning he was gone. And I will regret that decision forever. I miss my sweet boy.

Oscarette the gentle one

by Cat
(Rocky View County, Alberta Canada)

Oscarette layed the first egg I ever had.
She was wise from head to toe!

What I will remember most is her gentle ways
Her ease as one of the flock in whatever pecking order she was pecked into. No arguments there. I have nothing to prove she seemed to say.

The roosters loved her a little too much judging by the lacking feathers on her back.

For safety she was moved to the younger coop and she showed the young pullets how to become hens,
where to lay the eggs and how to live in harmony!
Then I left to take care of my mother and in 3 weeks she was gone.

I am sorry Oscarette- your short life was one of service. You are missed. Just know that you are my favourite hen and always will be!

Beloved Hen

by Charles McKee

I raised that hen from a chick and loved her. I can't believe she died at such a young age. Maybe I gave her too much spinach.

It makes me very sad.

Our Easter Egger Hens

by Beth Trapp
(Haskell Texas)

We lost 4 hens over the past year. We had 10 named after our 10 grandkids.

First, the prettiest hen Lili just died suddenly. That broke my heart, she was my favorite. I think it was our TX 118° heat.

Later in the year Allie and Thomas. So we bought 5 more chicks. We had gained 2 more grandkids. One turned out to be a rooster, Thomas!

And of course Lili and Allie. And Eli and little Braylon. Little Braylon turned out to be cross beaked and died in a month.

The others are now huge and just waiting to go into the big run. And this morning Crissy was just laying there.

She was the biggest and boldest leader, named after Christian, our biggest and oldest grandson. It broke our hearts.

She was different from the other Easter Eggers. No beard or muffs. Taller and in charge. As a baby we'd come in and there she was, standing on the waterer, her head outside the screen, looking around.

She was the first chick I named. And today she is gone.

They all have a special place in our hearts. Some more than others.

We will miss you the most, Crissy.

In memory of BCG ( Bob cat golthwaite)

by Laurie
(Portland, Oregon)

BCG was about 9 months old I would say. Not really sure. He was a cross between an Ayam Cemani hen and a light Brahma rooster.

His mom hatched him by herself, and he was in a hatch of 9 all together. If you don't know the Ayam breed, they are pretty flighty birds!

I didn't really pay much attention to the chicks, because they freak out a lot. Mostly because the hens freak when I get near them.

Anyway, the day came to give my Cockerels to my friend who butchers them for needy families in her area.

As I was separating them for her to pick up the next day, BCG ran up to me and started telling me I was lovely! Then I reached down to pick him up, and he started rubbing his head on my hand. He wanted me to rub his ears.

I had lost his Grandfather back in March of 2019. And he was acting very similar to what his grandfather acted like. It's like he knew if he wanted to stay, he had to show me affection. Instead of screaming loudly like the Ayams like to do when you pick them up.

Needless to say, I kept him. No way I could let a creature that thought I was lovely leave my house! Lol!

We had this game we would play daily after that. He would run up to me and tell me I was lovely. I would then chase him around a bit and rub his back and chest. Then I would pick him up and rub his ears for a while.

I could always tell when he wanted attention. He would do this loud screaming yell to tell me he wanted attention. That's how he got his name, from that shrill scratchy yell.

He past today on Mother's Day from sudden death syndrome. He was alive last night and I got to say hi to him this morning. But he was dead when I went to see him around 1pm.

Rest in peace, dude! I'm glad you had a happy life. Wish it would've been longer though.

Angel

by Sophie
(Hampshire )

Dear Angel was a lovely little ex battery girl.

I had her for over two years and she was such a happy addition to my flock. She was a tip top strong girl and laid an egg each day even to the last.

Couldn’t sleep this morning after a stormy night, so went down to chat to my hens and see what they do at 5.30am and Angel was dead in the corner of her nest... no warning signs or obvious illnesses.

My heart goes out to all who have lost their feathered companions.

Angel was a dear soul and will be sorely missed.

Thank you for letting me share this.

Luna and Rascal

by King family
(Portland, OR)

My chickens Luna and Rascal. We were away so we don’t know if it happened now or a day ago.

I loved them a lot. I trained them. One of them could come to me. And the other one could do so much with the family call. I did a bird call called the family call and all my chickens would run to me.

I fed them treats every day when I was younger. I loved them so so much. I still have two chickens but it’s not the same. I loved them both. I don’t care that they were not perfect. I loved them. They were my family members. They were my friends. I’m really sad.

Some people get new chickens but I lost two chickens.
Love Junie, age 7.


I think Junie said it all. Love Gus, age 9.


We raised them since they were tiny chicks in our house. We built them many different structures. Luna and Rascal were two good chickens. They loved to jump for flowers.
Love, Mom.


We got them at a time of uncertainty in the world and in our lives. And you reminded us that we were home. And it felt good to work hard to give you a good life and a good house and even though towards the end you always pecked my laces, I’ll miss you and we loved you, Rascal and Luna.

Love, Dad.

Alpha Henny Penny

Alpha was exactly 10 months old to the day when she simply departed.

She was always the first of her 8 sibs to greet the day with vocal cheers and of course always overseeing the others when they were laying their eggs, cheering them on with her egg cackling.

She'd often come over for a back massage especially if she knew a treat was on the way. She was usually the leader of "pen-breaks" but would also be the leader in getting all the other gaLs rounded up and back into their home.

She and 7 of her sibs were (are) Australorps and 1 is a Rhode Island Red.

All are wonderful company and great communicators, but there seems like such a void with the loss of Henny as the other gals are uncharacteristically quiet now.

I can only attribute her quick demise to Sudden Chicken Death Syndrome as she was active, eating, drinking, pecking, cackling when I was out there.

When I returned 15 minutes later, she was lying under the coop, motionless. At first I thought she was sleeping but quickly realized she was gone.

Absolutely no sign of any kind of trauma, just deceased. What a shock this was for me and as a novice chicken mama, I'm very concerned about my other gals.

RIP dear Alpha Henny. You'll be missed.

Cop and Duckis and Cheetos.

by Anonymous
(USA)

They were small lovely and nice they liked us. But they died.

I witnessed Cheetos die.

Our beloved Chicken Nugget

by Mandi
(Minnesota )

Chicken Nugget was a sweet girl. She was a fat little chick that loved to fall asleep in our hands.

She enjoyed roaming the yard while in the arms of my young daughter. We sang to her, read her stories and painted her nails. She loved to be held and petted.

We loved our little Chicken Nugget.

To my dear Chip Chip, a true friend

During online school, I often felt lonely, and I had no one to talk to. My Bielefelder hen Chip Chip, was a true companion during this time of uncertainty.

She had soft yellow and gray feathers, and was a really strong flyer! At only 2 weeks old, she flew out of the box (that had really high walls) and I found her walking around the kitchen floor.

She was also the sweetest little bird. When I was watching the flock outside, all other chickens would stay away from me, but not Chip Chip. She liked to sit right next to me, and I would let her eat dried worms right out of my palm.

Today, I went outside to close the coop door for the night and there was one chicken missing when I counted them. Underneath, was Chip Chip.

At first, I thought she was just taking a dust bath, but when I go closer, I noticed she was dead. She showed no signs of injury and my mother said that she may have died from a sudden heart attack.

I now look back with tears in my eyes and I see that Chip Chip lived a good life. She had spacious forests to roam, a close knit flock of friends, and many good treats and variety of food to eat.

It is a devastating thing to lose a friend, but I know that the time she spent on earth was not wasted.

The best I can do now is honor her memory, and give her chicken friends on earth the best life they could have. It is what she would have wanted.

Pickles - in memory of our darling girl, Pickles

by Cara
(FSJ, BC, Canada)

Pickles just passed away tonight. We are lost. She was our single and only chicken.

For years I have avoided accepting chickens into my bird rescue as once you take one, you’ll have a hundred to follow...but I made an exception this time, and I am so glad I did.

Pickles was dropped off to us (myself, but also my special needs 6 year old, my 4 year old and my 2 year old and husband) the second week of Spring break (March in the 20’s).

In February we lost our girl (dog) Mei Meu who was my constant shadow. Little did I expect to find a constant shadow and love in Pickles, but I swore if dogs reincarnated, Pickles would be her.

Pickles loved to sleep in bed with us and insisted on being covered. She was happy to sleep with anyone, but I was her favourite. She’d snuggle in to be spooned and snuggle my hair. I sometimes woke up with poop in my hair or elsewhere. But she was so warm, cuddly and loving, I could never reject her.

Today after trying to save her - antibiotics, anti inflammatory and pain killer, she did in the end pass away. Wings flapped, and head rolled around and she was gone.

My body hurts with anxiety and now grief. My oldest prayed for Pickles in heaven. I don’t want to live without her, but that’s not a choice I get to make anymore.

We’ll miss you forever Pickles. One day you’ll take my shoulder spot in Heaven again and we’ll bask in God’s glory together.

Love you so much Pickles.

Gamel, our big baby girl

by Jessie

Gamel was a blue Langshan hen with a slightly flipped comb. She was always one of the biggest in our flock and high on the pecking order.

Her nickname was “Big Gam”.

She was only 3 months from turning 4 years old and still laying big, beautiful eggs.

We found her already passed away on the floor of the coop in the morning. The day before she had been bright and sassy as always.

I still can’t believe she’s gone. I can’t understand when my morning head count only gives 4 big blue faces instead of 5.

One day I’ll see you again, Gamel. It will be a life time for me but only a moment for you.

I know the big coop in the sky has all your favorite treats, eat without care baby girl.

Mommy loves you.

My sweet girl, Poe

by Wendy
(Middletown, NJ)

Poe was a beautiful Colombian Wyandotte. She was only ten and a half months old. I had her from the time she was four days old.

She was always so peppy and lively. She was very loud, but so sweet. She had quite the personality. She was very healthy, giving me beautiful eggs almost every day.

Finding her dead in the coop was such a shock. She was so young and very healthy as far as I can see.

I wish I knew what killed her. She was loved every day and she brought me so much joy.

I will love her and miss her, always.

Nugget

by Oliver
(Farnham )

She was 18 months when she died, on the 4th of June.

She was always very friendly, enjoyed being picked up and stroked.

Footloose the Lil Chick

by Kyla
(Niantic, CT, USA)

Footloose, a purebred Silkie chick, was born in May 31st 2021 in Mandeville Louisiana. Unfortunately, Footloose was born with splayed legs and had signs of illness from its first moments in life, which brought on its name.

After two days of rehabilitation, Footloose was able to walk and eat/drink on its own with constant human care from its adoptive mother, Kyla.

By the time it was time to leave Mandeville and continue onto its permanent home in southeastern Connecticut, Footloose was full of life and could run fast to keep up with its owner. In the morning of June 5th, Footloose passed away while it was sleeping.

Although it was only on this plane of existence for a short period of time, Footloose was loved by his adoptive mother, aunt, grandma, great-grandparents, and everyone Footloose met.

So much so, that Footloose’s grandma was in the process of getting additional chick friends and building it a coop in her backyard just so it would be able to live with its mother.

A chick that touched our hearts and will never be forgotten, Footloose was able to live its short life nuzzled in the neck of its adoptive mother and loved to be pet on the top of its head. Its favorite song was Clair de Lune; which put it right to sleep after a long day.

May we meet again.

Maisy Girl

by Nellie
(Ontario Canada)

Maisy was a beautiful Buff Orpington that my sister hatched in an incubator for a science project.

I asked for a dog, but we ended up with 6 chickens instead!!

Maisy was the only hen we hatched, though. So we grew pretty attached to her.

Maisy was very domesticated and loved to snuggle with her humans. She could mostly be found standing on the steps of the back deck, waiting for us to come pick her up for a cuddle. 💕

Pippi

by Fiona
(Illinois)

Pippi passed on Thursday, June 3rd. She was 8 years old.

My sister and I got her when we were both relatively young and she had lived through a number of other chickens we had, including Pekka. I think they were best friends.

Pippi was a Sebright bantam hen. She had a really bubbly and assertive personality for somebody so small, and was definitely the leader of her pack.

Despite her bossiness, she was a huge sweetie. She would fly into our lap and sleep there while we were in the backyard. More recently I started to notice how much she'd walk over and spend time with me when I laid out a picnic blanket on the ground. She probably liked that we were on the same level.

She also loved going on walks with us (we would hold her) and we'd always stop in a part of the park near our home we dubbed "Pippi Meadows" where we would lay down a picnic blanket. She would walk around us and quietly coo to us and snuggle under our coat to sleep.

For a while we were letting her in the house, and she would watch TV with us while we pet her. We were only able to do this because she potty trained herself early on after she realized how we didn't like when she pooped in our laps (LOL).

She loved being pet and held and loved the smoothie leftovers we'd put in the coop - she would stand there drinking them for 10 or more minutes!! She also loved mealworms, of course.

And she was incredibly beautiful! Whenever we would bring friends over they always pointed out how elegant she was, and how beautiful the intricate design on her feathers was.

I honestly feel like she was my sister's and my emotional support animal. A couple years ago we had some really horrible news about a family member that we had a lot of trouble coping with. When I spent time around Pippi I really think she could sense how we were feeling and would intentionally come snuggle with us & coo.

She was also incredibly smart. We have two other chickens, both Mille Fleur variations, who are a bit dull (but sweet nonetheless), and compared to them, Pippi was such a genius!!

Last summer we attached some seeds & peanut butter to toilet paper rolls. They were supposed to be a challenge to peck at as they would swing around whenever touched. Pippi was the only one in the coop who could figure out how they worked.

Also a few years back I had a teacher who claimed she was able to communicate with animals. At first I thought she was bluffing, but after speaking with Pippi, it was shockingly accurate. She had told my teacher that she remembers living with our past 6 chickens (she communicated "6" exactly!), she is the boss of the coop, that she loves the "worm cake" we made her the day before, she loves being pet and sunbathing, and that she thought our Mille Fleurs were dumb and didn't listen to her, among other things.

All completely accurate and I didn't give my teacher any prior information about her! It really gave me a completely new perspective on animal life and my relationship with Pippi got so much closer after this event.

We both felt such kindness and mutual respect for one another. I felt like I knew how she was feeling and what she wanted. She was so spoiled and so loved and I know she that knew that. We never expected her to live as long as she did, and apparently Sebright hens' average lifespan is eight years, which she was able to live.

Her last day came so abruptly - she was acting completely fine the day before, but the morning of, I checked the coop and her leg was completely limp. She couldn't walk...

We held her in our lap and pet her until we took her to a vet appointment later that day. While we were petting her she kept cooing and cooing, a very specific noise that she would only make when sunbathing or eating mealworms (AKA her "happy sound").

I was so confused in the moment. Why was she so happy when she couldn't walk? But I think it was her form of thanking us - telling us that she loved us and not to worry about her. She didn't seem to be in any pain on her last day. She didn't feel sensitive or hurt to the touch and she was so calm the entire day.

I'm glad she left us in the warm season because I know how unhappy she is in the cold. We took her to the vet and she passed away a few hours later.

It is so hard :( The coop is not the same without her. I never thought I'd say it but I miss her squawking so much. It is eerily quiet now.

I know many people won't understand the level of pain it is to lose a chicken that was so loved, but they are not so different from a cat or dog. They are kind, silly, caring, and smart.

I don't regret anything, I know we allowed Pippi to live an incredibly fulfilling life, but it still hurts.

Pippi, we love and miss you so much. I know you are watching over us, and I can't wait to see you again :)

Miss Marilyn

by Jude
(GILBERT,.Arizona)

Marilyn met me every morning to be fed....meal worms first.

I found her this morning dead...just dead..no attack, no sickness. The flock was very quiet, as if they too were sad.

Rest in peace my dear chicken.

Dora the explorer

Dora was a affectionate and enjoyed being handled. She would escape into the front garden whenever she was let out of her enclosure.

She enjoyed company and I would often picked her up and giver her cuddles.

I only had her for a short time (8 weeks). Last night, when I went to put the hens in she was missing. I found her behind the fence, lifeless, no sign of any injuries.

She was such a caricature and seemed to enjoy company and no matter what the obstacle she could jump it.

I will miss her visiting my flowers and cuddling her.

A tribute to Luanne and Lavendar

by Laurie
(Ontario, Canada)

My Luanne loved the water and wet feather days. She would run after us and free ranged with her sister Josee Lee.

One sunny morning she was attacked by a mink while laying. I hit it with a shovel and held her all day, not knowing what would happen.

She had aspirin and love and survived to see my son return home after a weekend away and to see the vet. He had never seen a chicken survive a mink attack and she was doing great.

But, a day later she suffered a stroke and died in my arms. I felt her go but she was with us and at peace. That was June 2020. A horrible part of a horrible year.

Last night our rooster Lavi died. He was a silver gorgeous Americana just shy of a year and a half. My son was away and will be heartbroken.

He was simply dead in the coop. No predator and totally himself the night before. I cannot explain why he is gone or understand it. A year after Luanne too.

I will miss his crowing, his little Spanish wing down flamenco dance before deciding if he should attack or ask for attention. When nobody was looking he would put his head on my chest. Our little Coco, a chick who almost didn’t make it.

These were our babies and our saving grace in the hell we are living through. Until we meet again.