Day 2146 Scrappy

 

End of an Era…

Scrappy, the last of our original hens, has died. She was six years old, which isn’t bad at all. She was also the one hen who never laid a single egg and had been freeloading for years. Scrappy was a beautiful Barred Rock, with striking black-and-white speckled feathers...but other than that, didn't bring much to the table. 

I’m so glad I have a beautiful oil painting of my original girls—Quarentina, Carol Baskin, and Scrappy. Chickens don’t live long lives, so new chicks are usually needed every couple of years. And not all hens are memorable; some blend quietly into the flock without ever standing out, and they certainly don’t all get their portraits done.

We’re down to 19 hens now, so while I’m no fortune teller, I wouldn’t be surprised if chicks are in our future this spring.

I arrived home a bit early, just before sunset, and thankfully went straight to the coop to check on my girls. I found Scrappy inside the henhouse, where she must have gone to die in peace. Not a bad way to go for a chicken. Our poor Silvia was snatched by a fox, Carol Baskin was killed by a mink, everything wants to kill and eat chickens, so a peaceful death should be celebrated. And Scrappy’s passing won’t change our egg count one bit.

Then there's the cat....

Tim has been asking how long I plan to give our basement cat before she comes out, and what I’ll do if a year from now she’s still living down there. I hope she’s out by my birthday in April, but I’m not taking bets on anything sooner than that. I’ll continue to chat with her every morning and evening, feed her, and tend to her needs, patiently waiting for her to accept that I mean her no harm.

Meanwhile, my chickens are blissfully unaware of Scrappy’s absence, going about their business as usual. Pet life isn’t always easy, and neither is the life of a pet owner. Still, these small, fleeting lives leave their marks on us, and we’re better for having loved them. 

“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero