R.I.P.

R.I.P Jasmine Chicken.

She became suddenly ill with chest congestion. Yesterday she was scratching and pecking all over the yard, despite her congestion. Then when I went out to shut them in the coop I found her. She was flat on her back in the coop with her feet in the air. It looked like she had tried to fly up to her spot on the roost pole but had a heart attack or something, and then collapsed backwards and died.

All the other chickens in the coop were staring down at her silently. The ducks were hiding behind the coop in the dark afraid to go inside. Benny was saying, "Mwak mwak mwak" in urgent staccato, unlike his usual pleasant, "Mwak-mwak, mwack-mwack."

I took her body up to the front porch so I could see it in the porch light. Her eyes were closed. She was stiff as a board.

I ran to get Tyler, and Rosie followed him out. She gently stroked Jasmine and told her goodbye, and she then told me, "Jasmine died. Now she's in heaven with my Poudan chicken." And she went through this long list of memories about Jasmine, everything from how Jasmined talked to her and ate from her hand to the time Jasmine watched Dora in the living room and ate corn on the cob.

We can't bury her here, because if she is diseased it will cause the disease to live in the soil. We can't burn her here either. So we had to bag her and throw her away.

Tyler held open the bag while I lifted her in. Rosie insisted on helping. She very gently put her hands under Jasmine's back and lowered her into the bag and blew her a kiss goodbye.

Now I just have to live in fear that this is the start of a disease in my flock. I have no idea how Jasmine got sick or why. I have been incredibly careful about biosecurity, to the point of not even wearing the same shoes to the feed store as I wear in my backyard. I regularly lime the ground out there, even.

I don't know why this is happening to me again.

I should get the results of the mucus swabs back on Monday or Tuesday. I am so nervous.

I spent forever this morning watching my birds and checking them for signs of illness. None of them seem sick at all. I did notice that one of the brown leghorns wasn't running for treats, but those are odd birds anyway so who knows.

When I was holding a chicken up to my ear trying to listen to see if it had a rattly chest (like Jasmine had, her only symptom) it pecked me in the eye!

Chickens don't usually do that, but she got me right in the pupil and it hurt. Luckily my contact took most of the peck. While I was squinting in pain she went for the other eye!

My eye is ok, it's just sore, like a bruise or something.

Anyway, yesterday before the traumatic Jasmine death we...

Built a marble run inside and had marble races!

These are goofy.

In between thunderstorms we played outside.

Rosie pretended she was Pa and her doll was named "the little boy."

I've learned to stop questioning where she gets these things.

While she was swinging I picked some green beans for supper this week.

Rosie went inside and got a grocery bag and had fun filling it.

Kentucky Wonder bean plans make so many green beans. There are still plenty of immature ones growing and tons of blooms that haven't sprouted actual green beans yet. I have a feeling we'll be eating a lot of green beans in the near future...not that I'm complaining.

Tyler and Rosie are at the liquor store right now getting some boxes so we can start boxing things up! This week Tyler has to call and see what kind of mortgage we can be preapproved for based on his new salary, and we have to make an appointment to see the inside of the house. I also want to go see the smaller, dumpy house with five acres...just in case.

This is the outside of it:

The inside...

Out back...

The land...

The house isn't that great, but the land and the barn are! It has 5 acres.