No Sunshine

Last night I went out to put the Girls away and, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something dead under a shrub.    I thought it was a hedgehog, and I'd seen something pink, so I guessed it had been half eaten.

I hurried the Girls in,  and then I went to investigate.  It wasn't a hedgehog. It was Sunshine,  one of my lovely leghorns. (The pink I'd seen, and out of the corner of my eye assumed to be guts, was her comb).

I ran to the house to get a towel and to get DH to come and have a look.

Sunshine (centre) with Astrid (right) and Sylvia

We could find no obvious cause of death.  No trauma, no blood.  She was a good weight, she'd been eating happily the night before, so we don't think she'd been dying for a while.    I guess it's possible she ate something, but we're assuming that a heart attack was the likely cause.

We wrapped her up carefully in one of my good towels,  and then double bagged her.  She's currently in the freezer, waiting for the next bin day.     

It was a complete an utter shock. and it upset me much more than the death of Gloria because of that. 

I've got 5 girls that I fully expect to go at any time.  Norah, Poppy, Katy, Phyllis and Fleur.   I'll be sad to lose any of them (some more than others, to be honest) as they have all been part of my life for a long time.  But they are all old (for hens), and I've already made sure they've been told (and told and shown) how loved they are, so I'm prepared for them.    The younger hens, well, I just didn't expect it.

I've always loved the character of Leghorns. Loony, flighty birds, with a reputation for being difficult to tame.  I've never found that.  All my leghorns have been the friendliest birds, and I will always have space in my flock for one.

Sunshine and Astrid,  my golden partridge leghorns, are both lovely characters, and very different to each other.   

Sunshine is  was a particularly interesting little girl because she is was so fascinated by Other People (those who aren't chickens).

She studied the cats at great length, and always wanted to chat to them and talk to them through the netting. 

She studied us, very carefully.  She liked to observe when we had visitors.  

She was always interested in what everyone was doing - not in an attention seeking way, she didn't want to be part of it,  she just liked to observe closely just from a distance.   She always seemed to be studying us scientifically, like we were mice in a maze she'd created.

She loved her food,   happy to accept treats from my hand,    was very tame., and tolerated being picked up.    She knew and responded to her name. 

It's just not right without her.   I'm happy and lucky to still have Astrid, of course,  but hens aren't interchangeable.  Yes, I can hatch another leghorn (at some point),  but it won't be Sunshine.

I don't have any individual photos of her as an adult,   

Bye bye poppet.