[CSA Update] Welcome to week 9

Life on the farm includes little miracles around every corner. Every pet owner knows that our furry, scaley, and feathered friends do not live forever. We enjoy their love and attention. We are always shocked when they misbehave and put human decision-making abilities into our expectations of them. More than a few times, we have had a pig escape and squeal with delight as the entire team stops everything they are doing to encourage him to turn away from the never-ending green grass in the yard to go back to his safe and boring pen. This story is about a little miracle we didn't expect.
I'm holding Comet in the picture. Penny is the Plymouth Blue and the Buff Orpington is yet to be named. The girls are part of our Rent The Chicken program. Comet and Penny headed out back in April with excitement and ready for an adventure. They quickly became part of the family and were their only pets.
In June, Comet stopped laying eggs. We were troubleshooting as its a normal thing that happens, and it's a great time to learn with a farmer on the other end of the phone. One day the young son noticed that Penny looked droopy on her backside. We did a video chat, and we could see Penny was in rough shape. Somehow Penny had injured her bottom and had a large section of skin and feathers pulled away.
My wife met the family at the farm stand. Folks that have had to look at a 12-year-old and tell them the pet may not make it and can't go home with them - you know the strength it takes to face those tears on both sides. Penny was missing a skin section about the size of pack of playing cards. She was alert, friendly, and laying eggs. The laying eggs part was what my wife jumped on for hope - that is an excellent sign. Comet on the other hand, was fiesty, agitated and simply had anxiety. My wife and the farm team separated the hens, cleaned Penny up, treated her wound and gave lots of snuggles. Then it was time to start recovery and wait to see what would happen.
With Comet being so anxious and we didn't want Penny's injury to get worse, we separated the hens. We put Comet in one of our mobile coops, and we paired her up with the buff orpington for comforting. We knew she had been broody for several weeks, as in refusing to leave the nest and being bad-tempered. We worked with her daily, handling her, blocking her out of the nesting box, and feeding her herbs to get back on track. Having a little friend during recovery was magical - they followed each other all day and would sit next to each other and watch the yard happenings.
We put Penny in a single coop within a coop so she could be social but the other chickens would not be able to get to her injury. She was friendly and energetic. She didn't run from us when we would come to change her bedding and feed. She was a champ, and a little missing skin wasn't going to dampen her days. She ate well, and although inconsistent, she was laying eggs fairly steady.
Despite the two heat waves, Comet settled down and was back to her old self. Penny started cleaning her own wound - that's why you see the glasses on her in the picture, to help her not pick at herself. We brought them back together, and Penny accepted the Buff like a new college roommate. After about three weeks of recuperation, the hens are heading back to the family. It's a miracle because of how bad Penny's injury was. Life around the farm can be hard. Animals die. Chickens are delicate - well, some chickens are delicate. We have a lot to smile about when we reunite Comet, Penny (and introduce Buff) to their 12-year-old caretaker.