Poor Sally

Sally the Hen.  May she rest in peace.

A few posts ago (I think it was the one about the snake), I told you that we had a hen in the infirmary.  We were trying to take care of her and nurse her back to health after an unfortunate accident.  Some day a couple of weeks ago, she had gotten a bit too close to either Daisy or Rosie and the cows don't look around before they meander off to graze.  As a result, Sally, the Barred Rock hen, found herself under an 800 pound cow's hoof and quickly found she was no match for the weight and pressure of a mama cow.

For two weeks now, Russ faithfully brought Sally fresh water and rice to a safe place in the goat barn where he had positioned her away from the other animals.  It is an odd thing about chickens, but when one is injured, they sense the weakness and begin picking on the bird, pecking at her and will eventually kill her.  Sally was eating and drinking just fine, but her legs... they just didn't work anymore and just dangled by her side as she leaned over to eat.  No hobbling, no standing up.  Sally was not making any improvements.  Her legs were crushed.

Russ came to me and said, "Dad, I think we need to put Sally down."  Awww man!  I hate to do this, but she's not getting better and is suffering.  I don't like to see animals suffer.  We tried, Sally, we really did.

The executioner's tool of choice, sharpened

Sally is not an overly special bird.  We call ALL the hens Sally, because we can't tell most of them apart.  It is no big deal for me to kill a meat bird.  We grow them for meat.  After 8 weeks, they are butchered and find a new home in our freezer.  But for the laying hens, it is different.  They live on our pasture for years.  The lifespan of a chicken is said to be around 8 years.  

We started banding our chickens a few years ago and put a different color band each year so we can tell their ages.  Sally did not have a band so I'm guessing that she was at least 4 years old, but probably older.  I read some information that said that on average hens can lay 800 eggs in five years, varying depending upon breed and environment.  Sally has given us lots of eggs over the years and has fertilized a lot of grass during that time.  In this same time, we've given Sally a good life, 3 acres of pasture to roam on and the freedom to do things that free chickens like to do in the great outdoors.

Out of respect for Sally, I won't show you a picture of her or the deed.  "Thank you, Kyle," I can hear my readers say.  Russ turned his head and I sadly and swiftly performed the task.

The Crime Scene

We gathered Sally's remains and a shovel and planted her in the row where the kale grew this past winter.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to dust

Sally will continue to be an asset to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm as she'll fertilize the soil and grow healthy vegetables for our family next Spring.  Death is part of life.  I think it is important to show your kids things like this.  They get to see life and death.  They get to learn that you are to treat animals with kindness, you handle them in a gentle manner, you give them a good life and a humane death.

Russ worked very hard to save Sally, but finally recognized that there was only so much that he could do and he came to the decision of what needed to be done.  That decision was not an easy one for him to make and it made me happy that he deliberated on it and didn't take it lightly.  Life shouldn't be taken lightly.  It's only a bird, you might say.  Yes, but Sally's death provided a teachable moment for my kids and one in which character was developed.