My Rocky was not a Fighter he was my Gentle Boy

by Betty Sharpe Lee
(Camden SC US)

Rocky was from a very expensive beautiful breed – a Gamecock Rooster. But he was gentle and was injured by another when he was a young boy. He damaged his wing, so his owner did not want him cause he lost his value.

But he was valuable to me. He was my handsome boy. All Rocky ever wanted was to be treated special and to be loved. And he was.

His feathers grew in perfectly and he was perfectly gorgeous, with colors of orange, red, black, purple and blue depending on how the light would shine on him.

He greeted me with a crowing no matter what time of day. Even on the roost he’d come to greet me at the gate of his secure little world, safe and protected from predators. We live in an area where coyote sounds are heard near at night.

I knew when he did not run to greet me something was wrong. He was fine yesterday, he was fine this morning, but he was not fine this afternoon.

At dusk he had already gone to his coop. I found him lying below and he was gone, died for no reason. I don’t understand.

I know he’s happy to be with his chicken ladies – we named them the Golden Girls. He had out lived each of them. They were about 7 years old.

I will miss his crowing. His sound was like none other. He had long spurs, but was not tough as he appeared.

He was my gentle boy. RIP Rocky.

Jean Grey

by Lorelai
(Taylor, TX)

Jean Grey has been with me for about 2 years now and left us suddenly last night.

She was one of my more social birds but on her own terms. Favorite past time was perching above or next to me and observing (Some may say judging 😆). We will miss her greatly.

Here's to the watermelon when you are hungry,
Dust baths when you are dry,
All the mealworms you'll ever want,
And heaven when you die.

Blossom and Buttercup

I have lost both Blossom and Buttercup to completely unknown causes. Both at night, both in the spring.

They were part of a trio of Buff Orpingtons I had in my flock. We called them the Power Buff Girls. They were/are massive Buffs with a lot of attitude, but very fragile at the same time.

One afternoon, Blossom thought she was being attacked by something horrible. I heard her screams and after the rooster sent the rest of the flock to safety, he also came over to check on her. She had gotten caught in a blackberry bush and was sure she was going to die.

I swear that rooster laughed at her, turned and walked away. They were beautiful full feathered birds with beautiful red combs and never ever let the rooster get too many feathers off their backs.

They are survived by their sister, Bubbles. Bubbles was unavailable today because she is in the maternity ward sitting on a clutch of 7 eggs that she chose herself.

I hope some of them are Blossom and Buttercup's too.

Most beautiful Golden Red buffed, gone forever

by Younas
(Islamabad, Pakistan)

We thought we are very lucky to have a pair of Golden Red heavy buffed chickens.

Our visitors, relatives and even passers by, could not resist to have themselves photographed, especially with the rooster.

Yesterday was very unlucky for our loved rooster when a wild dog attacked him. The most beautiful chicken turned into a stripped mass. He died after passing thirty hours, despite the usual treatments.

Every one was heavy hearted. We have a few eggs in hand and plan to incubate them, hoping to be lucky to have him again with us.

Paula D

Paula D was one of my very first hens. She was a Barnevelder with the most beautiful coloring.

Paula was always the sweetest out of my hens and seemed like she was always there listening to me rant about my day. She always loved getting treats and loved the summertime when she would get left over vegetables from the garden.

She is now buried under our lilac tree with a little of her favorite treats.❤️

She was so much more than just a chicken. She became part of our family.

I miss you so much Paula.

Two Chicks

(Pennsylvania)

They were so sick and needed to be killed painlessly. It hurt me to do but I couldn't watch them suffer any more.

Rest sweet girls.

Gus

by Gi
(Villa Rica, Ga)

I rescued Gus, he was given to me by a neighbor.

Gus was being attacked frequently by an older rooster, so I took him in, I had several chickens and a few ducks, but no rooster. He instantly became part of the family.

He was the greatest, so protective of all the flock, he let me know when a falcon was near, trying to get to my little babies I had running around the yard.

I had him just over a year. He was fine the day before, treated them to a little watermelon, he was always the first one out of the coop.

But not today. He died sometime during the night, he was lying on the floor of the coop.

I’m so very sad. All my animals are my babies. I am going to miss him terribly. 😫😩😭

Chop

by Bodega
(Atlanta )

I had a Silkie chicken named Chopped Cheese, Chop for short.

I woke up to get flapping like usual and went to the restroom. But when I returned, I saw an unresponsive chicken not breathing. Her body became stiff and head floppy.

She had just turned 1 a few weeks ago. She loved water, dried bugs, and music.

I buried her earlier out back, and put some little stones over her.

Jenny

by Linda
(VA)

Jenny was one of four Barnies we raised from 2019. Last night I checked in on them before bedtime and they were all chirping away looking as happy and healthy as ever.

This morning I found one of them, Jenny, dead on the chicken run floor. No sign of trauma, disease or injury.

She was beautiful. One of my babies. She was the most quiet of the girls but always came up for an extra treat or just to chat a little.

I feel terrible. I never saw it coming. I’ve tried to figure out in my head if I could have done something different to keep her her with us for just a while longer. I spent all day trying to make the coop and run extra nice for my remaining girls.

They were all very quiet today, or maybe it just seemed like it to me because she was definitely missed.

Rest In Peace little Jenny. Love your gentle fluttering heart forever. ❤️