It ’s been three weeks since thepassingof our Easter Egger hen , Gisele , and while I ’ve finally accept her last , her memory is still a little sad to sue .

I mean the office coin me especially severely because she was the first pet I ever misplace and I sleep with she wo n’t be my last ; the unfamiliar experience of caring for ( and eventually euthanizing ) a terminally ill pet was shuddery , to say the least .

And afterward I shout for Gisele , cry for her sisters , and cry for my pugs ( who will shortly be 11 and 12 year quondam ) over the inevitable and uncontrollable . I live this is all part of the circle of life , and I think ( hope ) I ’ve become stronger as a result of all this … one of our many lessons in life .

Your electronic mail fall in me strength and in some ways , even made me smile .

I cognise it ’s often unmanageable to find the right words to solace someone , especially a virtual stranger , but please know that even a pocket-size sentiment mean a lot . I am so grateful to those of you who reach out this past month .

After Gisele ’s passing , we ( our vet ) direct her physical structure to theCalifornia Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory Systemat UC Davis , which offers a free post-mortem ( an autopsy performed on an animal ) . The table service is meant to supervise the wellness and well - being of backyard flocks and verify backyard - spawned disease wo n’t affect the res publica ’s poultry manufacture .

The preliminary results follow back within a day or two as inconclusive . The final report ( sent a hebdomad afterward ) list the cause of last aslymphoid leukosis .

Lymphoid leukosis is an avian viral disease typically transmitted from an infected female parent to her unborn chick .

The vet believed Gisele became septic while she was still inside the egg . The virus has a long incubation menses ( four month or more ) , so she was sick for some time before she started render symptoms .

Initially , the veteran surmise Marek ’s disease as the symptoms are quite similar , though Marek ’s commonly runs it course within the first six months of lifetime .

Lymphoid leukosis manifests itself in older chickens around the sentence of intimate maturity date ( Gisele was two yr onetime ) .

Chickens become sick ( on their combing and in their snout ) , emaciated , depressed , and progressively weaker to the point where they lose full mobility . It ’s a devastating disease to watch unfold .

Unlike Marek ’s disease , lymphoid leukosis isnotspread by air . In a flock , the virus can spread by hiss - to - bird striking and by forcible contact with contaminated environments . Infected chicken lie infected eggs and produce infected feces .

If a sizable chicken eats the infected egg ( or stool ) and she ’s genetically susceptible , she could contract the virus .

I have never seen my chickens eating each other ’s eggs or feces , and I keep the coop and environment fair sanitary on a day - to - day footing , so I hold out promise that Kimora and Iman were not infected . At present , they seem bouncy and happy and thirsty and curious … all honorable signs of intelligent crybaby .

I have to wonder , though , if Gisele was lowest in the pecking order because the other two knew she was sick . Their bullying became a bit more intense in the last few months ; they often judge to keep her out from their food and I had to give her a separate dish to make certain she was use up .

Was it likeWorld War Z , where they had a sense she was terminal and stayed away from her ?

Currently there is no inoculation and no handling for lymphoid leukosis . Once a chicken becomes infected , it ’s a terminal disease that ’s not easy diagnosed until after death .

In a elbow room , I ’m sort of relieved to see this , only because it assures me that her death occurred naturally .

For a while I was torn on whether I should ’ve kept her in the infirmary longer or whether I did the right thing in place her to rest . Knowing that her lawsuit of dying was genetic — and not an airborne contagion , or something I could have prevented — eased much of my worry and guilt trip . Only meter will tell with my other two hen .

Thank you , again , for keep me — and all of us — in your thoughts .