Chickens can aspire to a special accolade….

As the Rosewarne hens snuggle down each night, the older girls tell bedtime tales of a legendary hen that once upon a time slept in their coop. They speak in hushed tones of a hen so special she was known as Goodchicken, and now that she is flying high at the Rainbow Bridge; rumour has it that a few lucky girls have been asked to carry on her name. It is the greatest honour a hen can have and one they all aspire to.

The Big Girls are right, the legend is true, but in order to belong to the Goodchicken Sisterhood, a hen must be the kindest and gentlest of souls, one who has never thrown a peck in anger, who is always helping her sisters and extending the wing of friendship to new girls.

The very first Goodchicken was Bunty and it is she who is now the stuff of Rosewarne folklore. She was a magazine covergirl, her story featured in a museum in Los Angeles, she is a medical pioneer and the owner of a Braveheart medal and certificate. But, more importantly, she was a Good Chicken; a sweet, gentle soul who was the shining light in our flock.

When Bunty passed away, it seemed only right that the Goodchicken name live on in her memory. So the Goodchicken Sisterhood was formed. The next recipients were Miss Basket (for services to Effie), Greta Garbo (for services to beak cleaning and egg sitting) and a posthumous award to Larkspur, whose tumour meant her freedom was so short lived. It seemed only fair that we extend the Sisterhood to other flocks so, on my blog there is a dedicated page to the Goodchicken Sisterhoood, where hen lovers have sent in details of their special girls. I am particularly pleased to see that hens from Wing and a Prayer hen rescue feature, because the Goodchicken Sisterhood is also a tribute to the hens in cages who will never get the chance to show that they too could be a Good Chicken.

And our exciting news at Rosewarne is that now we have a new Goodchicken. Miss Lavender! Lavender is the happiest, kindest, gentlest girl and every day for her is a delight. The scars of her commercial life have left her very small, underweight and prone to soft eggs so she has recently been Very Brave and had an implant to stop her laying.

Image(s) provided by:

Archant