My favorite chicken, and a favorite among many who visit Dragonfly Farm, was Chili Pepper, my Rhode Island Red from my very first batch of chicks. She was the sweetest chicken. She would tug on shirt sleeves or pant legs to get me, and visitors, to pick her up and snuggle her. She would bury her face/beak into my shoulder or hair for a nice long snuggle.
We almost lost her when she wasn’t very old, with a blocked crop. We fed her Greek yogurt and she was good as new within 48 hours. She has fallen ill/lethargic a few times since the summer of 2020, but she always perked back up after some yogurt. This summer, right before our vacation, she started to seem not like herself, and when she didn’t even take yogurt, I knew she was not well.
I separated her from the other chickens, gave her some time in her own space, snuggled her, and tried to make her comfortable. I came out one morning and she had passed away in her sleep. She was so sweet. I cried for the loss of her. I was glad, however, that she passed away while I was home and not a week later when we had a pet sitter. I got to snuggle a few last times and tell her how special she was.
Our coop just isn’t the same without her.
Dragonfly Farm 