Unofficial Goodbye

Well, this is it, guys. The big goodbye. But we had a good run, didn't we? We had some good times. And I will never forget the time we spent together, and the joy you brought to my life. Farewell, Camilla and Bellatrix. May you find joy in Oakley. And may you not meet untimely deaths at the hands of feral ranch dogs. That would be a tragedy.

Yep. It's true. The chickies have to go. And we love them dearly (... well ... Mom and Abby love them ...), but they're just too noisy. And disgusting. Here's your disgusting story of the day.

This morning I was taking Trixie out of the garage and putting her in the coop. They're always a bit nervous when they're being held (understandable), and they're always a bit antsy to be down on the ground again. So I'm carrying Trix, I open the gate to the coop, and she flaps right out of my arms. And a little egg drops to the ground and bounces on the dirt. Yes. She laid an egg on me. I have had a fetching egg laid right in my arms. I'm sorry, NO. Fetching disgusting. So I just stood there, staring at it. I didn't want to pick it up, because it was covered in goo, and it would be warm, and that is simply not okay with me. But apparently Millie and Trixie found it pretty interesting because they started pecking at it. I shooed them away, but I still didn't want to pick it up. So they started pecking again. Finally, I gathered all the courage I could muster and picked up the wet, slimy, warm egg. Gross. It was so gross.

And for that reason alone, I'm really not that sad to see the ladies (as I have lovingly called them) head north to Idaho. Annlie was right. Dangit, she's always right! She told me. She warned me that I would love them as chicks, and then come to detest them as adult chickies. She was right. You're right, Annlie! Enjoy your moment!

You know, I was imagining the post would be a bit more heartwarming and tender. It's kind of sad that my goodbye post for the chickens I wanted so badly (see Unofficial Dreams, August of 2012) has turned to this. Eh, what the heck. It is what it is.

So this is the un[OFFICIAL] goodbye.

*Brief Explanation*

The chickies will be heading to Oakley with my Aunt Heidi and Uncle Steve (who own a ranch) after my farewell. Apparently we have visitation rights (though I'm not expecting my chickies will still be squawking in a year and a half when I get home ... I wasn't kidding about those feral ranch dogs).