Miss Stella, 2012-2018

Today we said good-bye to Stella who passed away peacefully in her condo at around 1:00 pm. She was a good chicken and will be missed.

Miss Stella came to us in March 2016, one of four hens that we took in to spare them from getting the ax - the previous owner said they had stopped laying. Since we took over guardianship of Stella, she walked less and less. Last May the vet examined her and concluded that Stella had something neurological going on, maybe a tumor that was affecting her ability to walk and balance herself. The vet said it didn't look like she was suffering, but that Stella would not be long for this world. At that time, Stella would scoot around using her wings to balance. 

We started feeding Stella separately, making sure she had fresh water, food and treats all within her limited reach. We built her a condo on top of the nesting boxes so she could stay inside during cold or rainy weather but still see outside. We moved her down to the lower bunk every night so she could sleep with her longtime buddy, Noodles. We put her outside to soak up the warm rays of the sun when the weather was nice. When her mobility worsened, I learned how to bath her in warm water to clean her little chicken bum and to trim her beak and toenails as they grew long without a way to wear them down naturally.

Stella was a fighter. The vet didn't think she'd last a month, but she survived almost a year. She'd even lay eggs on occasion - brown and very oblong. She had the cutest little coo and would talk to us often - maybe she was thanking us for trying to make her as comfortable as possible. During the last several days as my Dad held water to her beak and I tried to coax her to eat corn, yogurt and cat food, her eyes would shut - we knew she was getting tired, maybe she was ready to pass on.

Stella, we love you and will miss you. I hope you are scratching around in a huge garden with your sisters, Plucky and Puff.