This morning Jeremy found one of the silkie hens lying immobile in the hen house. When he picked her up she gave a tiny flutter but he knew that she was on her way out. She is the broody hen and the nest box, with eight eggs, is empty and the eggs are cold and will not now hatch. Silkies can live for six or more years and we don’t know how old these birds were when they arrived at The Gables. We will bury her in the vineyard near the rose bushes.