Her death was not unexpected. She's slowed down a lot recently, and I knew a couple of days ago that she was getting ready to go. I had time to tell her how much she was loved, and how she would be missed.
She was just short of her 10th birthday, and was one of 8 girls that we hatched from a dozen Castle Farm's Welsh Black Eggs. These are a cross between an Indian Game and an Australorp, and they had the best characteristics of both breeds.
She is survived by her hatchmates Poppy and Katy.
All the girls from that hatch were very robust. We had planned to keep one girl here (either Poppy or Gloria) along with the single female exchequer leghorn chick, Lotti; we also planned to keep a couple of girls for the allotment. The other girls would join the boys as dinner chickens.
In the end it was Poppy that stayed in the garden, and Gloria was one of the two girls earmarked as keepers for the allotment.
For whatever reason, we decided to keep all 7 of the allotment girls. The other 6 were named after the wives of Henry VIII, and we kept one of the boys, Henry, as well. They were all strong, gentle, determined, higly intelligent, easy-to-do chickens.
When we lost all our Garden Girls bar Poppy to a fox, we brought Gloria back from the allotment to keep her company. I was so happy to have her back in the garden, she was such a lovely girl to have around. I'd said from the moment she went to the allotment, that I'd bring her back of we had a space.
The first of the 8 to go died at 5 years old, already a reasonable age for a chicken. The next died aged 6 and a half, and the next 2 were just under 8 when they went. They really were a fantastic strain of bird, and I wish David was still selling eggs.
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| Gloria (L) and Poppy |
She learned jumpy uppy, she knew her name and would come when called, she tolerated being picked up and stroked, and she was just a lovely calm girl.
Her feathering was amazing. Like all 8 Welsh Blacks, she had Australorp eyes and she had shiny black feathers which had a green and purple irridescence which is impossible to catch on camera. They were incredibly soft to touch.
Her death was expected, for those of her age (and older, like Nora), "any time now" is likely. She had a really happy life, and a peaceful death. It really helps me to know that.
I'm so lucky to have had her in my life at all, and particularly having had her company for so many years.
Goodnight my Gorgeous Gloriana.
