I was so sad to lose another beloved pet chicken recently. I only had two, so I think that made it even harder. I have become so attached to my girls. My Keypone was just a little over two years old. I thought she was a bit of a diva, and she was a fancy-looking chicken, but she had more of a deep sounding yell. It did not match her looks.
When we got her, my husband thought she looked like she had a mullet. I couldn’t really deal with that name, but we compromised and went with the Hebrew word for mullet, “Keypone.” I thought it sounded a little better. Most often, we just called her Key.
She was a productive girl when it came to laying eggs, but she had quit laying in recent months. I wasn’t sure if it was just a seasonal thing or not. My husband thought she had become skittish. On occasion she would forgo treats, but for the most part she was still doing the normal chicken things. I wonder what I should have done differently for her. I am always learning how to be the best chicken mama.
One day I was gone for most of the day, but the thing that struck me was that she skipped treats for water. I mentioned to my husband that she seemed to be drinking more. When my husband came home he found her on the roost, as we would expect at the end of the day. Our other chicken did come out and hang out with my husband for a while, but Keypone did not. That happened on occasion, though, so I certainly was not expecting what I found the next morning.
When the coop door opened, she was on the bottom of the coop. She was a bit limp and lifeless. I tried to give her something to drink, but she wasn’t interested. I brought her inside to try to figure out what to do for her. I actually had her on a towel on my lap when she started having the death throes. I think it was less than 15 minutes from the time I found her and the time she passed.
I was shook up with her loss. I cried many tears for my little one. I don’t know why she died. I took a sample of her poo to the vet for examination, but it did not provide answers. In the past, I was able to get answers for another chicken by doing the same thing.
She was my baby and my pet. I don’t have human babies, so my animals are it for me. Keypone was a unique little girl, and I think she was good company for my other chicken, Buster. We originally bought her and another chicken to keep our little Buster company. Buster seems to miss her, too. Now we have to get Buster new friends, but Keypone did leave her mark on my heart for sure.
