On the last day of March, we had another loss here at the sanctuary. One of the older hens we rescued last June with their rooster Cowboy, who we named Kirby, passed away. We couldn't determine a cause of death, but considering her age and being a heavy laying breed, her body likely just finally decided it was time.
Kirby joined the sanctuary with her rooster Cowboy and her 9 other hen flockmates. They were a shabby bunch, with varying stages of feather loss that we couldn't diagnose the cause. The couple that owned them were looking to have them all go somewhere safe together. The hens had all mostly stopped laying and the couple was ready to move on from keeping chickens.
Kirby was preceded in death by her sister, Cheyenne, who passed back in December. They now lay peacefully side by side here on the farm.