Our red ranger hennie died

When I went to let the chickens out this morning my old red ranger mama was dead on the floor of the coop. It was sad but not a suprise.  For a couple of weeks now she hasn't been doing much but sitting in the sunshine and napping. 

Taken yesterday. Here she is with my other old hennie, the bantam from the auction. The Golden Girls of the chickens, they spent a lot of time together.

Over the past week her comb and wattles have been turning purple and it was just a matter of time.  This is the first chicken to die here of old age.  I think she was at least 4 years old, maybe 5 which is pretty good for a meat bird that is usually butchered at about 16 weeks.

Here she is in her younger days with Nigel

She raised babies every spring. Both her own eggs and chicks that she adopted. 

She loved her babies and was an excellent momma.

I buried her out in the chicken yard not too far from Nigel. I'm glad that her last couple of days were warm with some spring sun.