Sadly, at the beginning of October I lost my beloved Lilly, and Brulee struggled for weeks without her vibrant kooky sister. I've found it difficult to talk about, writing about it is still taking some effort. Not seeing her beautiful white self in the garden has been hard, Lilly was the most hilarious of my little flock.
Brulee used to spend every second of the day with Lilly, they were my only two larger chickens, my other three are smaller. In the days after Lilly's passing, Brulee was often found alone on the footrest of this chair.
Bella however seemed to know that Brulee was grieving, she began holding space for her sister on the armrest. Bella did this until Brulee found the strength to rejoin our now very small flock of four.
For many, chickens like most animals are looked upon as stupid, or with little intelligence. That's far from the truth. Aslan was an absolutely beautiful rooster, he showed me the important role a male plays in the flock, I don't think I have recovered from his passing yet.
Chickens are very smart, and they form deep emotional bonds with each other. In the years I have had the pleasure of a chicken family I have seen first hand how remarkable and loving chickens are.
Brulee being the oldest has now taken on the role of protector, she even tries to crow. That's quite funny, as a chicken really can't sound like a rooster. That doesn't seem to put her off though. She even purrs to the rest of the girls, just like Aslan did while they relax together, that often brings tears to my eyes.
It's very difficult seeing such a small flock now, but they still add such a spark of joy to my garden.
I am still greeted at the gate as I arrive home every single time by four little chickens dashing towards the gate as soon as they hear my car. You can't buy moments as special as that...
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