Bitchin’ Chickens Memes: 41 Grief & Loss

I’ve written about grief before and undoubtedly will again because, sadly, the life of a chicken keeper is to experience loss. You know the old adage “Where there’s livestock, there’s deadstock”. If that wasn’t true, I’m sure we’d all be a whole lot happier.

I’m Canadian but come from British stock – primarily Irish and English – and was raised with phrases like ‘quit your whining’ if I skinned my knee and was encouraged to buck up or have a stiff upper lip when faced with adversity. The folks from that area of the world are not renowned for big shows of affection, emotional displays and public grief – except maybe the Irish who get drunk and let it all out during a wake.

In my experience, folks of my ethnic background living in North America are, by and large, squeamish at the notion of death. The process of dying and its aftermath have been removed from the family and immediate community and given into the hands of professionals: doctors, nurses, coroners and undertakers.

We are given three paid days off work to attend funerals and wrap up the affairs of the deceased and then are expected to head back to the office as though nothing happened. We use phrases that express our discomfort about loss such as “Aren’t they over it yet?” or “It’s time to move on”.

Profound loss means that you will never be the same again. That’s not to say you won’t go on to find happiness, but you will be marked in some way.

If we don’t speak openly about grief related to someone close to us how do we convey that loss when it involves a pet or, heaven forbid, ‘just’ a chicken. I’m not here to judge how you should express your feelings upon the death of someone close to you, but I would like to advocate that your feelings are valid regardless of who you are grieving.