Henrietta Chicken Bottom arrived on my birthday in May 2019. She was a rescue, and ex commercial hen who had been been using for egg laying and at 17 months was deemed “uneconomical to keep”, so discarded by the commercial farmer.
She had a pronounced limp (which never went away) and a wonky beak, she definitely wouldn’t have won any prettiest hen contests, she wasn’t the most adventurous of the girls, and to begin with she was quite suspicious of humans.
She was however the Leader from the start, but my dear sweet girl was a very benign dictator. Once the initial pecking order was in place, she maintained it with just a look or a gesture. She was patient and gentle with her flock, she watched over them whilst they dust bathed, only relaxing if she knew I was there taking over the protective duties.
She was the first to welcome both sets of new girls when they arrived, checking them over, letting them know she was in charge firmly, but gently. Accepting them into the flock and shepherding them around with the other girls.
It took her a while to accept me, but over the last year she loved nothing more than sitting on my lap and softly singing her happy little song to me.
Henrietta proved to me that good Leaders don’t have to be the loudest, the bravest, the cleverest or the prettiest. What they do have to do is care about the ones they are responsible for. Henrietta protected her flock, she looked out for them and kept them safe. She passed away last night in her sleep at four years old, surrounded by her flock, exactly as she would have wanted.
They will miss her presence deeply, and so will I.
Chicken Nuggets 