Crookshanks was hatched in the spring of 2019. She's really the chicken that shouldn't have been. When she was incubating, the incubator turned off twice. Normally I would stop a hatch at that point, since too many temperature fluctuations can cause birth defects. But my little chicken Ping had been patiently sitting on a nest, waiting for chicks, and these were the only eggs that I had available. So I gave them to Ping, and she hatched out Crookshanks.
Ping was a very devoted mother. She took great care of her baby, feeding her and caring for her all day long until Crookshanks was 6 months old! Normally chickens wean their chicks in between 5 and 8 weeks. But Ping must have known that Crookshanks needed help. One side of Crookshank's body was shorter than the other, resulting in a slanted walk, eyes that were not quite even, and a bent crooked beak. Ping devotedly fed her baby and clucked over her for longer than I have ever had a hen do so. And Crookshanks grew and learned to mingle with the whole flock.
When Ping finally weaned Crookshanks, Crookshanks became best friends with our giant blue cochin, Lenore. I don't have any great pictures of the two of them together, since Crookshanks regarded cameras with a large amount of suspicion. The slightest movement that indicated I would take a picture resulted in her fleeing the scene at top speed. But in the photo above, you can see Crookshanks as a chick with Lenore in the background with her own adopted chick.
I wasn't sure if Crookshanks could even lay an egg with all of her defects, but she started laying at 6 months and laid until last week. She lived a full and happy life for an entire year. But then her little body suddenly gave out. I have no idea what sort of defects were inside of her, but I'm sure there were plenty. I'm just glad that she went downhill very swiftly, without a long drawn-out illness. It was an honor to have this little warrior in my flock.
Fly high sweet girl.
Fly high and wait for me.
