A week or so ago, my beautiful speckledy hen, Mavis, passed away.
She was 5 years old so it was kind of expected, but..it really hurts. :(

On Saturday, we noticed she wasn't moving. At all. She just sat in one space, all hunched over. After a while, we tried feeding her by bringing food to her, and she wolfed it down and chugged water as if she was famished. It was strange; she wasn't unhappy, but she seemed to have lost all feeling in her legs.

The next day, she was hobbling around, but only on one leg. The other had collapsed, so we had to keep picking her up and moving her into the sunlight and making sure she always had food and water nearby.
Her condition gradually deteriorated, and she died. But I don't think she was in pain. She was still perky and eager to see us. At least we can say she died happy, and if she had been left for longer...well, it wouldn't have been fair. It's no quality of life.

I'll miss you, Mavis. I used to love it when she would hop onto my lap and I'd feed her grapes. She was so gentle and tame and I loved her<3

We have one hen left, Maggie, who is a few months older. She is fiesty and independent and doesn't like being handled as much as Mavis did. In a way, it's better that Mavis died first, because she'd be distraught on her own. So far, Maggie is doing fine, and I hope that when her time comes, she too does not suffer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_E_y1AWAfc