RIP Dora

It was meant to be just a quick visit to the allotment this morning to check on the chickens before having family arrive. I stopped to say hello to the Weed Destroyers and bundled them a large handful of kale to keep them happy whilst I refilled their food and water bowls. Down in the main coop, I gave out the sunflower seeds and refilled food bowls. On my way back up to the Omlet, I checked in the nest house for eggs. Lifting up the lid, I discovered Dora in there. For a minute, I looked at her wondering why she was lying down. Then I realised that she had passed away. Sometimes there is just no obvious reason why a hen dies and I hadn’t seen anything in Dora’s behaviour to concern me.

It’s always sad when one of our flock dies, especially if they are young. As I was sorting out Dora’s body, I realised there was a traffic jam on the ramp into the nest house. Five chickens all impatiently waiting for the me to get out of the way. It was quite a sight!

Leaving them to it, I went across to the new coop and collected a warm egg. Lilja had was just leaving the nest box as I picked up the egg. You can’t get any fresher than that! I left throwing out treats for them until our family arrived as they were keen to visit the allotment.

Before I left, I thought I would give the ground sanitiser a try. I bought it several weeks ago and forgot about it. The instructions were fairly vague – remove birds from the immediate areas, sprinkle liberally and leave for several minutes before returning the birds. What is “several” minutes?! Starting with the area by the door, I sprinkled the powder out, shooing the inquisitive birds away. After about five minutes, I guessed it would be alright for them to walk on it. On a roll, I repeated the process on the far side of the coop. Realising the time, I left the middle section for another day, and ran home to greet the visitors.