She was a day old when we got her and we had her for 3 and a half years. She was the cutest and fluffiest little chick. She was a Black Australorp, and because of her Australian heritage Jaron named her Matilda. She escaped from the coop while we were out of town for a day and was killed by a predator on Saturday, September 19th, 2015. We think it was a hawk.
Our views on animal cruelty as well as nutrition were changing rapidly a few years ago when we decided to get 3 hens. We let the kids pick out the breeds they wanted, and Jaron picked Matilda. Hens are illegal in Virginia Beach, but we checked with our neighbors and decided to go for it anyway. It was about 6 months after we got her, and our two other hens, that we decided to petition the Virginia Beach city council to change the law so that others in the city could enjoy backyard hens too. We took Matilda to numerous events and fairs to educate folks about backyard hens. She was gentle and friendly, and everyone who got to meet her left with a positive impression of backyard hens. The law hasn’t changed yet in Virginia Beach, but when it does it will be good to know that Matilda played a small part in making it happen.
The Virginia Beach city council says that chickens are farm animals. The council members say that chickens can’t be loved and cherished as pets. The tears in our household yesterday would say otherwise. We’ll miss you Matilda.
