Scarlet’s fight ended this afternoon. She was comatose when I got to the barn. I did not disturb her. After her long battle I let her rest. I checked on her a while later. I thought she was gone, but picked her up to make sure. She was limp, but a could feel some slight movement in her chest. I held her for a little while until I was sure. I still do not know how she held out as long as she did. Or what was ailing her in the first place. I am going to miss her.

This photo is from just a couple months ago. She was sun bathing and I liked the way the sun looked shining through her comb. Hopefully they have sun bathing, dust baths, and lots of yummy treats in chicken heaven.

How in the heck is she still hanging on? I really don’t know. She seems about the same as yesterday. Her breathing hasn’t gotten worse. Every day I steal myself to find her dead, and every day I am amazed at her resiliency. I don’t see how she can possibly recover. But if she isn’t giving up, neither am I.

Here’s something I’ve been thinking about the last few days; just about any chicken keeper will tell you that when a chicken is sick, the rest of the flock will “take care” of the situation, meaning they healthy chickens will peck the sick chicken to death. I have heard and read this “fact” from multiple sources. Here’s the thing; none of my other 5 chickens has shown the least bit of aggression towards Scarlet. And it’s not as if she is isolated. I have her “sick bed” parked right in front of the waterer so all she has to do is stretch out her neck to get a drink any time she wants. The others come right up by her to drink. They seem to have absolutely no interest in her one way or another. My only answer to this is that we only have six hens and they have the run of the entire barn and are free to go in and out whenever they want, without fences. They are free range, but can be in the warm shelter of the barn whenever they want. I have to conclude that all of these “chicken people” simply have too many birds confined in too small a space. Coops and runs keep too many chickens in too close a proximity to each other. The stress of over-crowding causes an unnatural reaction to illness or weakness. You don’t see birds in the wild pecking each other to death, right? That is my take on the matter. What do you think?

I didn’t see Scarlet when I got in the barn tonight. I figured she must have crawled off to die somewhere. I found her huddled under my nephew’s wagon. Still alive! Unbelievable! She is nothing but bones and feathers, but she is still alert. However, she is showing signs of trouble breathing. Whatever this started out as, she has weakened so much that she now seems to be developing pneumonia. There is no way she is going to fight it off in her condition. If she is still alive tomorrow, unless some kind of miraculous improvement occurs, I am afraid I will have to make a decision I do not want to make. I know she is tired and weak, but is she suffering? Sigh. I just don’t know. She is still alert, still fighting. But if mere breathing becomes a struggle for her, can I let her linger on? This sucks!