Mrs. Snuggles

When we got her as a two week old chick, she was the smallest in the whole store. Sometimes when I'd record videos of her, she'd peck the camera lens. As she grew, she became a great egg layer, giving a giant egg every morning, once even a double yolk. They were always kinda funky, from being oddly shaped to always having excess calcium on the outside.

After a couple years, she laid less and less, but still occasionally surprised me with an egg. She liked pecking at my mom's feet, and loved scrambled eggs and whatever scraps she could get. Her comb was large and she had little growths on her legs like a rooster, yet she wasn't the boss.

A couple years ago, she was attacked by the neighbor's dog and lived to tell the tale, but as a result always wore a saddle to cover her back where feathers could no longer grow. Her tail was also permanently broken pointing downwards and didn't regrow feathers there either. In the recent days, I did notice her back feathers had finally grown back and was so surprised and proud.

She had ascites, which I drained once, and had a lot of supplies as I anticipated I would be caring for her for a long time. The past couple days, her crop wasn't emptying and I couldn't manually empty it when I tried yesterday.

So I had planned on trying again this morning, but then I found her in her sleeping spot, eyes closed. I am so deeply saddened, but also glad that she went in her sleep, seemingly peacefully. But it still feels so early, she was only 3 years old.

Mrs. Snuggles, although you let Chun be the boss, you sure were bossy with us! You were so sassy and bold and I loved you for it. You were so fun to be with and I'm sorry our days together ended too soon.

You are and always will be my baby and I'm so happy I got to be your mama. I love you!

Speckles the chicken

by Maria
(Oregon)

She was a Barnvelda chicken, the sweetest chicken. She was black, brown and blue, and she loved being pet and held.

She loved the sort of chicken treats that you would bring her every day and night, and she loved frozen food scrapes from the kitchen table.

She was my baby. I got her when she was just a baby chick. She knew my voice and she would follow me everywhere I went.

She will be dearly missed but never forgotten. I loved her so much and I plan on keeping her memory and her legacy alive.

My sister's dog killed her I think, but I think that she was also really sick. I was at my beach house when she passed away, so when I came home from my beach house my big brother told me that she had passed away and that he buried her for me in the backyard.

I have been crying for a couple of days now, and same with my mom and my dad. So the loss was really hard on us as a family. But she was mainly my chicken.

I plan on getting her cremated by my vet so I will always have her in my bedroom on my nightstand.

I really miss you and love you so very much, and you will forever be my baby girl chicken. I know that I will see you again some day, and I know that you are no longer in pain or suffering out there.

And I know that you are up in heaven and that you're dancing with the angels. I hope you're dancing in the sky, and I hope you're singing in the angels' choir.

I'll bet it's so nice up in heaven since you've arrived.

Chubby

by Cortney
(Dallas, TX)

As told by my 9-year-old daughter:

"Chubby was a cute little fluff ball with big cheeks. She was an Easter Egger. Sometimes when I held her she made a cute little honk. She looked like a hawk and I really loved her.

On Thursday night she stopped getting up or eating or drinking. We don't know why she died. She was less than a year old.

I haven't really felt happy since she died. I'll never get to hold her again and I loved doing that. She was really special to me."

Lil Bit

by Christen Cason
(GA)

She was the sweetest little friend. I used to hold her under my arm like a little football and walk around the yard and garden with her. She was so content with just being with me.

I have no idea what happened to her, she was fine this morning then when I went to close the coop up, I found her dead in a nesting box. I'm still in shock.

I buried her close by my house so I could visit as often as I want. I told her over and over how special she was and that I will miss her terribly.

May she find abundant green grass and all of the juicy bugs her little heart can take.

Daisy Boo

by Sharon
(Cornwall England )

Daisy Boo was our extremely comical and friendly 16 months old Cream Crested Legbar hen.

She stood out in our small flock due to her wonderful habit of being always first at the gate, her willingness to interact with her humans and enjoy a stroke or cuddle. She loved "helping" in the garden with the weeding and seemed avidly absorbed in watching us work.

Today our home is a quieter place and the rest of the flock are subdued and silent.

Daisy Boo we will all miss you.

Rooster

by Elizabeth P
(Kentucky )

I named him Rooster. He was white. He had a wife, Lucy, until a possum got into pen somehow with them. He put up a good fight, but Lucy didn't make it.

We got rooster better. He would run to the end of the pen when he saw me coming. He didn't care much for my boyfriend, he would get upset with him. It was funny.

Everybody knew him. He would crow at 3am every morning. He wouldn't hardly come outta his house. Then I fed him that morning but that evening I saw him laying not moving. He had passed away, I don't know why unless it was just old age.

I made my boyfriend check his coop to make sure nothing got in with him. It hadn't. I didn't care much for chickens until I got them, then they became part of the family.

He didn't like my dog very much, he would let her know he was there and king. I just loved them. I am an animal lover, always will be. I'm getting more but none take place of rooster and Lucy

Queeney

by Kathryn Huff
(Mitchell. IL)

Beautiful Cinnamon Queen hen. Kids loved to hold her when they come to visit Grandma and Grandpa's farm.

Midnight

by Myrrh
(WV)

She was a beautiful Australorp. She had a good life for over 2 years now, when my grandmother found her in the coop, dead, with her eyes closed. We figured she had some sort of a heart attack because she was in perfect health and was unharmed.

I'm really sad because we had raised our first 4 chickens that we called the "big four" and now we only have our big 3 California Whites.

Not too long ago we lost one of our Isa Browns (who we believed had been pecked at) and died from internal damage.

It makes me so heartbroken to think we now only have 14 chickens when we used to have 16 with 12 isa browns, 3 California Whites and Midnight, our Australorp with elegant greenish hued black feathers.

It truly is like losing any other pet or animal you care for. They meant a lot to me. Even when I wasn't there with them, it made me feel better knowing they were happy.

Rest in peace my little Midnight, and Isa.