Little Blessings: Backyard Chickens

Right before Easter time this year my family decided to embark on our first real homesteading adventure. We bought 4 baby chicks. They were so cute and fuzzy. We even named them: Abigail Evelyn, Burnis, and Gretchen. They lived in our house for two months and then we moved them to our garage, awaiting their coops building. At about 11 weeks we moved them into their half finish coop. After the first day of being outside we lost one of a chicks. She had been sick and it finally took her. I cried A LOT. It was hard because I was the one responsible for their care and well being. The day after we lost Evelyn, Gretchen fell ill. We nursed her back to health with sunshine, apple cider vinegar, and probiotics. Magically, she recovered. Gretchen was the outsider in the group and she would follow my husband, me and the boys around the yard. She was curious and loved to be petted. She would perch on our arms and just hang out. We genuinely grew to love her. Well, fast forward to 16 weeks. It is the beginning of summer now, but the temps had been cool until all the sudden it went from 70 one day to 95 the next. Gretchen got sick again. The heat wiped her out and the door to her coop some how got shut and she couldn't get to her water. When we got home my hubby noticed she wasn't do well. So of course I tried all of the things that helped her before, but it was too late. I held her and petted her and tried to help her eat and drink. She gripped my finger with her feet, looking at me, her breathing shallow, she moved her head closer to me so I could pet her. So I continued petting her, then her feet lost grip and her head fell to the coop floor and I watched my pet chicken breathe her last breath. It was weird, we just like that lost the only chicken that liked us, we lost my sons favorite chicken. I mean she was Randy's favorite from the beginning he had picked her out. I know she was just a chicken but loosing life of any sort, even that random road kill squirrel is always hard on me. I love animals and seeing one die crushes me. We buried her in our back yard and the boys told her they would see her in heaven. They told her they where sorry she got sick and they hoped she felt better now. And that was it, it was over and the boys where asking daddy to buy them a new Gretchen, one that wasn't sick. It is amazing to me how quickly children can move on. It's a gift. We buried her to help them learn to grieve and say good by and to learn to respect all life, even if it is just a chicken. And my boys were sad, but they got over it quickly. I am grateful God makes children and their emotions so resilient!! Despite my disappointment in our two lost chickens we are going to try again. We will be getting a few more chickens and hopefully I will be able to better care for them and make sure that they are all happy and healthy.
Let the homesteading adventure continue!!!