A Memoir To Washington

A Memoir To Washington

December 20, 2020


(Washington's gravesite.)

I am so grieved as I write this. As you all know, Washington, our Production Blue pullet, has suffered and overcome many injuries. She had had her brain pecked into, as well as her back. Now, she will suffer no more. Washington has gone home.

On December 14, 2020, we came home from school, and I headed outside to the chicken coop to collect the eggs. What I saw next broke my heart in two: Washington was draped over the roost. She was...dead. Never in all my dreams did I expect for this to happen. As the sun set over Southern California, I took two feathers from her, and we buried dear Georgia Washington in the ground, and placed a tire (the reason for that being if a predator found her body, we would know, hence the tire) and a headstone over her grave. I never got to say goodbye.

As you know, two of our hens detest Washington, and gave her two severe injuries: A brain injury, and a back injury. When I found her in the coop, Washington's tail was bruised and bloody (probably thanks to our two Buff Orpingtons), and that was what most likely caused her death- blood loss. Our Buffs hated her. Hamilton plain ignored her. Lafayette cherished her!!! In fact, Lafayette and Washington were best friends. They would do everything together: dust bathing, digging, eating, drinking, and sleeping. Washington followed Lafayette around everywhere! Lafayette was like a father to her. They were inseparable.

Like the real-life George Washington, our Washington was a trooper. She managed to survive two life-threatening injuries, with one side effect however: she tried to dig in concrete. (We think the brain injury made her see concrete as dirt.) She survived many months of pain, and pushed onward. She could have become a little lady, a mama hen. But her body couldn't go on like that. She tried so hard until the very end until her strength was no more. Washington was an inspiration to all of us. She was one determined pullet. A tiny pullet. With a big heart.

The night that Washington passed, I had a wonderful dream. In it, I saw Washington opening her eyes to a green meadow. She stood up, and I saw that her body looked normal, without all the scars she had from her injuries. A few bees buzzed by, and some butterflies fluttered past. Then, Washington started chasing them around the meadow. And then my dream ended. That dream made me think she might be in...(dare I say it?!)...paradise???!!! Who knows, maybe I'll see Washington again someday.

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