Missing my brave girl

Missing my Jojo a lot today. And I’m just forever so proud of her, even long after she’s gone ❤️

Jojo was our “Queen B” head hen from day 1. Fiesty, brave, intelligent. Nobody messed with Jojo, and you didn’t say a word if she messed with you 🤣 Her life wasn’t easy, but she made the absolute most of it.

Jojo got attacked by a hawk in 2022, and I still to this day am so amazed that she made it. It was free range time, and I heard the ducks alerting me. I ran outside to see a hawk twice Jojos size on top of her. (She was 8 pounds and not a small hen by any means) The feathers showed that she fought so hard and somehow made it all the way across the yard while fighting it off. She would not have made it much longer if I hadn’t intervened and stopped it. Jojo had a dislocated wing and 5 deep puncture wounds and was immediately rushed to the nearest Avian vet. We traveled almost 2 hours, absolutely terrified because she was staying so strong and wanted to live so bad, but SO clearly needed medical attention from a professional. The longest drive ever! But my girl was so strong and brave. One of the wounds was punctured in a way that created a large open cavity in her abdomen. That one was horrifying. She had a slice in her crop. It was just awful. By the Grace of God, Jojo survived surgery and miraculously recovered so quickly. She refused to slow down and was back to bossing around the flock in no time.

A few months later, I found Jojo in the nesting box, extremely ill and sickly. We rushed to the vet again. We never got 100% answers. She needed spayed and had something very wrong with her reproductive system. Surgery was so risky and expensive and we opted to try antibiotics and bring her home. The antibiotics worked for a while, and then she was sickly again. Lash eggs, infectious material, lethargic and not eating, but drinking a lot of water. We felt so hopeless. It seemed like she’d have a “bout” for a few days, but once the lash infection was out of her body (in her stool), she would recover and go back to thriving within a few days. It was the weirdest thing. We tried a lot of antibiotics and pain meds. Spaying truly was the only permanent fix. Jojo had 6 “bouts” before she altogether stopped laying anything and her reproductive system shut down. (?) No eggs, no lash material. Nothing. She just went back to normal, but without any signs of lay. 2 years went on like this before she suddenly developed waterbelly/organ failure and had to be euthanized. It was the hardest call I’ve ever had to make and was done out of pure love. She was so strong for so long! She was such a fighter and even though her story sounds so depressing and sad; believe me when I say this chicken had an amazing life and lived it to its fullest. Forever our Queen Jojo ❤️