Mabel arrived at Cosy Cottage with her pal Ava back in 2018. From the start, they were an unusual pairing. Ava was small, but Mabel was much larger in comparison, not only to Ava but to other bantams in general.
While other chickens may have been flighty, the black and white speckled Mabel became tame quickly, always looking for tasty titbits from humans. She didn't mind getting picked up, even when she wasn't laying eggs. This big girl was definitely a 'people chicken'.
But she was no 'chicken chicken'. Although she was always friends with Little Ava, it took her a long time to tolerate other chickens in her territory.
Little Ava (middle) with her friends Mabel and Dottie
When Eliza, Matilda and Victoria came to Cosy Cottage, Mabel - who was brooding and therefore already in a grumpy mood - would try and bully them if she was able. Luckily she was always supervised so the youngsters were safe. While Ava grew tolerant of the trio not long after introductions were made, it took Mabel a few months to fully accept them.
Mabel always wanted a chick of her own so every summer she would go broody. This made her bad tempered although she was never aggressive to humans, just grouchy. And It always took a while for her to get back to normal after this broody phase. During this time I would have to take her out to make sure she had enough to eat and drink.
Of all the hens, Mabel was the most prolific when it came to laying eggs. Every year, even when she was getting older, there was an egg every second day in the spring and extremely delicious they were too.
Mabel may not have been the friendliest of hens to her own kind, but she was certainly brave. Whenever Jemima would give the alarm call after spotting a potential threat, Mabel would back her up, repeating Jemima's urgent clucking. Ava and Dottie would be hiding from the perceived threat, but not Mabel.
When Dottie passed on, Mabel was technically leader. As she was the eldest, this should have been obvious, but Mabel - whose main interest in life was eating - had to learn how to be a good leader to the next generation. But she was always an excellent security guard, alerting the girls to any dangers she could detect.
She had a big appetite and I would often find her nibbling on various plants in the garden, trying out the different delicacies. Victoria and Eliza would follow her lead on these important matters.
She would have been six this year, the oldest of the bantams I have looked after. I expected her to possibly pass away in her sleep but what happened was much, much worse. One morning I headed down to the coop, assuming the three would be waiting to get out as usual. But as I opened the coop door, I could only see Victoria and Eliza. Where was Mabel? I looked down on the ground and there she was in the corner, injured but alive.
These were nasty wounds and I took her to the vet that morning, not having any hope. At best maybe antibiotics but how resilient would she be at her age?
However, it was bad news. The vet examined her and told me that one wound was so deep it would be unlikely she would recover. The kindest thing would be to put her to sleep.
Sadly I agreed and said my goodbyes. I buried her near her best friend Ava, who would have met her on the Rainbow Bridge, taking her to the elysium fields of corn and mealworms.
I blame myself for what happened as I got complacent with the chickens' food and the existence of predators such as rats. Now I diligently take the food in at night and close the pophole (something I hadn't been doing). My guess is that Mabel had gone down to the feeding area for an early morning snack and had either been attacked by a rat who wanted that same food or, maybe, she had fought off the rat in an attempt to defend the coop. After all, she was Mabel the Brave.
It may have taken Mabel a long time to accept Victoria and Eliza, but the three bonded and now, like me, the two younger ladies miss her.
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