Goodbye Henrietta

Goodbye Henrietta-

I don’t believe in jinxing but I have to say what recently happened is very odd. In my last post about my chickens I stated that they are good girls and we don’t have too much drama to report.  That was until the feather fiasco. Even after Freda lost her body weight in feathers all was good in the hen house. That changed one week ago today. My sweet Henrietta died from a heat stroke.

It was another crazy day at the Samuel house. Crazy is our normal. My boys had sleepovers the night before and I was frantically cleaning the house from the sleepover (they were helping), my daughter was hiding in her room while I yelled come put your laundry away and the dogs were napping; I was packing my 83 year old grandmother a suitcase because she was going to stay with her nephew for a few days (and she had only packed 5 pairs of pajamas and 2 shirts), good thing I checked behind her (I cannot even go there right now, but really there should have been a camera on my face when I peeked in her suitcase). I was also trying to pack my own bag for my girls weekend that I was leaving for that afternoon. I was running around multi-tasking like a boss when I realized we hadn’t checked the eggs for the day. I sent my youngest son and his friend outside to collect the eggs and continued about my chaos. The next thing to happen changed my daily routine forever.

Jonathan, my son, came running inside with a terrified look on his face exclaiming something was wrong with Henrietta. He said she was laying under her nesting box and her face was purple. His face grew solemn and he said, “mom, I think she’s dead”. My heart dropped into my stomach, worse than the horror movie feather drop scene, and I ran to the coop. I looked at her and I did my absolute best from breaking down in complete hysteria over the loss of Henrietta. I could  not imagine what happened. Jon was right, her face was purple and her eyes were still open, she was dead.  I cringed. I walked around the coop looking for an answer of some kind and then there it was. Somehow the coop door had fallen shut and she couldn’t get out. Chickens cannot cool themselves so therefore she overheated and died. I felt like the worst pet owner in the world. You see people breaking car windows all the time to save pets, I wish there had been someone there to save Henrietta.

The latch on our coop door has been working extremely well for over a year now. My routine the same every day; I go outside open the coop door latch it open and count my girls while they come prancing down the ramp eager to peck the ground for bugs and other treats. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. I pet them, talk to them, then they talk back and I go back in the house to resume my day, always peeking out the window to check on them. Now, I only count to 11. It may seem silly, I mean, I’m a carnivore, but I miss her.

I think the hardest thing to deal with is the guilt that I could have prevented it. If I had only peeked out the window earlier and seen the door had shut I could have saved her. I feel silly for grieving over a chicken, but they have really become pets, not just egg layers. I think it is hitting me hard today because I did not have time to grieve for her last week. I did not want to ruin the girls weekend for the rest of our crew so I put on my big girl pants (after I went in the bathroom and cried for a while) and put on my happy face and made the best of it. When I got home and checked on my girls, it hit again when I only counted 11.

I am counting my blessings through all of this. It could have been so much worse. I am thankful that my family is healthy, alive and well. It was definitely another roller coaster of emotions for me that day. I started off thankful for a new day, then frustrated from the mess created by the sleepover, agitated that my daughter was hiding, laughing hysterically at my grandma’s poorly packed suitcase, relieved the kids stepped up to help do chores, then extremely sad at the loss of Henrietta followed with peace in knowing that God didn’t leave me once that day. He was there cheering me along through every laugh, tear and snort.

I know Henrietta was just a chicken and I know there are so many others out there going through so much worse, but God is still God and He is still on the throne through everything we face, and I know He is faithful to be there when you call upon His Name. He got me through that day just like He does every day. I am completely and totally dependent on Him and I am so thankful that when I feel weak He is my strength. I really do know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!