Now to catch up on the chickens story....

So I last left off when they were 6 weeks old.  At 7 weeks, they had been handled and loved on, every single day of their lives.  As a result, they were very relaxed and used to posing for my camera.

Here's Madeline with Lily and Jasmine.

And Tara with Dixie and Daisy.

Four totally loved hens.  Two incredibly happy children!

They loved to get "special treats".  Here, you can see that Madeline is giving them something REALLY special.  Just check out those precious little fuzzy butts.

And did you notice Madeline's beautiful haircut?

Yummy, yummy. . .What could it be??

It's one of their favorite treats.  Rolled oats and yogurt.

These Henny Penny's absolutely love their rolled oats and yogurt

And here is Tara with her pretty new haircut as well.

Then On June 2nd, our chicken adventure came to a painful halt.  We lost our precious Lily.  I dropped Tara and Madeline off at school, and when I came home, I went to the coop to let the girls out.  The coop was not secure enough and a raccoon had taken our sweet, sweet Lily.  My heart absolutely sank.  Frantic, I started running around our property calling for her in hopes that somehow she was okay, although I knew in my heart that she was gone.  All that day, I cried on and off.  I was so sad for the loss of our favorite hen Lily, and so sad that I would have to break the terrible news to Tara and Madeline when they got home from school.  I felt responsible.  I should have made sure their coop was more secure.  It is now, but there was no going back .  When I picked the girls up from school, it was all I could do not to start crying on the spot.  When we got home, I told the girls to come sit with me in the family room.  With an arm around each of my children, I told them the terrible news.  Tara thought I was joking and jumped up to run outside and see that Lily would be there.  We all cried together and talked about how much we loved her.  That evening, the girls drew pictures in memory of Lily which hangs above each of their beds.  

Here is Tara's. . .

 I collected some of her feathers that were left in front of the coop and the girls each put one of Lily's soft buff colored feathers on their picture.

This is Madeline's. . .

This is not the first time we've lost a beloved pet.  Three years ago, we lost our beloved dog Jack.  You can read about that touching day HERE.  It does not get easier with experience.  I know she was a chicken, but unless you've ever had a chicken, you really don't realize how attached you become and how big your love grows for them.  Our precious Lily will always be remembered.  We ❤loved❤ that silly, sweet little girl very much.  Enough time has passed now, that our pain is not so raw.  We can now think of Lily and remember many happy times we had with her and feel comfortable that she had a very happy, pampered life.  She was a special baby.

At first it was hard to see just 3 girls in the yard.

But time does soften the pain, and we have three remaining lovable hens.

And two extremely happy little girls.

If you haven't figured it out already, the hens featured at the top of my page on the blog title banner are my hens.  Jasmine is on the left, Lily is the baby on the bottom of the coop ramp, Dixie is at the top, and Daisy is eating the chicken scratch.