Farm talk - Goodbye Micky

A photograph of my pet hen, Micky, in my garden, taken with a Canon EOS 550D – Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa

It’s been a very sad weekend for me, my beautiful little Micky died of unknown causes. She wasn’t old, no injuries and hadn’t been ill. It’s a total mystery to me, but one possible explanation could be that she ate a frog. I’ve lost chickens before when they ate frogs, which they absolutely love, but the slimy-ness and toxicity of some frogs’ skins means certain death. I’ve fenced my pond with small wire so that they don’t get out and into the garden, but frogs have a magical way of appearing out of nowhere in search of a new water spot.

R.I.P little Micky, you are sorely missed.

Can you hear it too...?

Micky, my little Black Silkie, has this peculiar habit of stopping mid-stride and cocking her head to one side as if listening to something. She sometimes stands like that for a minute or two and I often then think that there’s something peculiar in the garden, but no matter how I look or listen, there’s never anything. Then she’ll go on her way scratching and pecking as if nothing happened. But she is rather a skittish little girl, so maybe it’s just her way of being careful.

When she was a couple of days old she almost succumbed to Fowl Pox, but I managed to pull her through, but it left her much smaller (and cuter!) than all my other chickens. And with a few extra peculiar quirks!

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