White Hen’s New Home In The Barn

White Hen found her roost on the make-shift gate, in the stall,  that I propped up between two bales of hay.

She was up there last night and this morning.

When I came back in the afternoon she was still there.  Which made me wonder if she knew where her food and water were.  It’s possible she hopped off, ate and drank and then went back.  But I had no way of knowing for sure.

So I offered her a handful of dried meal worms  and she gobbled them up.   When I held a cup of water up to her she dipped her beak in it and eagerly scooped up water.

Her food and water bowl were on the floor of the stall, so I put them on one of the hay bales, lifted her off the fence and put her on the hay bale too.

She was still eating when I left her.

I would guess that White Hen is dying,  she doesn’t have the energy she used to.  Also her comb ( the red above her beak) is pale and shriveled.  This is an indication of old age or illness.  She is 11 years old which is old for a hen.

White Hen has been a good chicken to us.  She’s given us lots of eggs over the years as well as many good stories and photos.

So we’ll keep her in the barn and see how it goes.

She doesn’t show any signs of suffering and appears to be content.  She actually does a lot of talking  when I go in the barn.  I don’t know what she’s saying but her soft gentle coos don’t seem to come from any kind of distress.

I actually find them calming.  Maybe she does too.