the sad passing of ruth

well, i write this post with saddness. we lost our BIG MAMA partridge rock hen ruth the other day. this is the first time we've lost a hen to something other than a dog attack. the truth is -i'm not totally sure why she died. my best deduction i can come up with-which i'm ashamed to say is heat exhaustion. we have had triple digit days and my girls have not had the opportunity to free range as much as before-since "blue" came into our lives. as he must be closely monitored if he is outside with the hens and we don't always have the time to do that. their fenced in yarn gets real hot later in the day. i had checked their water earlier in day but failed to do so later. by the time i noticed their water had been emptied-it was too late. i found her in the coop. it was extremely hot. i feel just terrible(like a bad chicken mom) for not checking the water sooner and keeping a better eye on the situation. i've been letting the girls free range during the heat of the day now where they can find better shade.

ruth was our largest bossiest gurl. we will miss her. i'm so sorry ruth!liam honored ruth with one of his glass insulators.