Benny

Sadly, earlier this week we lost one of our hens - Benny.

Benny having a cuddle with Em

We were blessed to have her as a pet for the time that we did - she was a real character - bright and friendly, inquisitive and docile. Out of the three hens, she was probably bottom of the pecking order, but she didn't seem to care.

Benny 'helping' me with some potting

She was very partial to mealworms and Jacobs crackers(!), and had taken to following us around the garden, even if we didn't have food in our hands. She was also the easiest to handle, and would purr and close her eyes when cuddled... very cute.

However, a few weeks ago she started behaving out of character - not laying, eating very little and preferring to stand still rather than walk around and investigate the garden with the others. At first the problem seemed to be an impacted crop. Once this was treated, she returned to something of her former self - however, she had been developing a limp over the course of the last week, and her demeanour took a turn for the worse on Monday.

After a visit to the vets later that day, the diagnosis was egg peritonitis, which is fairly common among chickens and nearly always fatal. So on veterinary advice, and given the fact that she appeared to be in increasing discomfort, we took the decision to have her put down.

It was extremely sad and upsetting - any of you that has taken a pet on a one way trip to the vets will know how that feels. After all our efforts to protect the chickens and keep them safe from foxes and the like, we were beaten by something entirely out of our control, which leaves you feeling angry and helpless.

Some people will probably say 'you shouldn't have named them; you shouldn't get too attached'... well, we took the decision to have them as pets rather than just as livestock, and particularly in Benny's case we were rewarded with a real character.

Frankie (top) and Jerry (bottom)

So, we are down to two chickens now - Frankie and Jerry. After the last few days your instinct is to pack it in - sell these two and the house, and spare yourself the pain. However, over the last few days with grief and upset replaced by thankfulness and good memories, it is looking likely that instead at some point in the future we will add to the brood... we figured, just as Tennyson did, that 'it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'.