r/stevethechicken • u/AkioUK • Apr 04 '15
Announcement I have some bad news. Goodbye One-eyed Brian :(
Sorry about this wall of text, but one of our brothers has fallen :( I thought he deserved a nice eulogy.
So I've had a lot of fun doing this sub, and it has drawn me closer to all of our chickens. Even I myself get sucked into the world and personified versions of them that have been created.
I hope some of you also like it as much as me, and have identified with some of the characters
As some of you may know, but most probably don't- Brian, our old rooster (who was exiled from the coop by the other chickens and lived in our back garden), ran away last night. I mentioned it in a comment here, on a gif that I made of him and our dog that I posted yesterday.
At the time, I thought he had just jumped over the fence and wandered off to a nearby field to get some better grass, and that he would either return today, or we would find him alive somewhere..
Anyway, I went looking for him this morning, and after 10 minutes or so searching in the neighboring field, I found him under a low hanging tree, and sadly he had passed away.
I'm not going to lie, I was devastated, and I sat there for quite a while next to him just wishing that he wasn't gone and partly blaming myself for not securing the gate properly yesterday
Some of you might think "wow, this guy got upset over a chicken?", and yeah, you can think that if you want, but I see these guys just as much pets as any other animal, and especially Brian, since he was always hanging out in the back garden pecking the grass and avoiding any trouble with our cat and dogs, and he was probably the tamest of all since he was so used to people and animals being around him, and picking him up. He was also the one that I co-named with my dad.
I think the most likely cause to his death is that the other chickens got to him and started harassing him (mostly foghorn), and he jumped over the fence to escape, and then maybe couldn't handle the trauma in his old age. He didn't seem to have any bad visible injuries.
I'm happy that he has had a better life over the past few months, after we separated him from the other chickens and gave him the whole back garden to wander about in, he seemed much happier.
Chickens don't last for very long, so I hope you all know this can't last forever (unless we get new ones, and name one of them Steve) and I knew Brian would be the first to go since he was quite old, just not within just over a week of making this sub :(
We buried him this morning next to our other chickens that have passed away over the years.
But in the words of Dr. Seuss - Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.
We'll miss you buddy!
TL;DR: RIP One-eyed Brian.
I've put together an album with a few images in memory of Brian, if you would like to see them:
Also, don't worry, I will continue making gifs and other funny things with Steve and the gang, I finished making one last night and was going to post it today, but I'm going to leave it until tomorrow out of respect for Brian.
I'm also going to leave his flair on here, so those of you who were on team Brian can keep using it, or choose another if you like.
I leave you with this
Come away, come away, death, And in sad cypress let me be laid; Fly away, fly away, breath: I am slain by a fair cruel maid. My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, Oh, prepare it! My part of death no one so true Did share it.
Shakespeare, twelfth night
- Feel free to pay your respects to Brian in the comments
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u/surfnaked Apr 04 '15
Well shit. I totally identified with Brian, being a podgy grumpy old one-eyed bastard too. Damn, Brian, gonna miss you, old boy. I shed a tear for him. Surprised me.
I will have to take his voice in future comments. Who better qualified than me?
RIP Brian.
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u/AkioUK Apr 04 '15
You go ahead, and thanks for being here since the beginning :) I've always noticed your comments with Brians flair and appreciated them.
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u/Soldier-Spy Apr 04 '15
I feel like we've only just met Brian. To have to mourn him so soon is a tragedy. To follow your Shakespeare I give you John Donne:
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
RIP Brian.
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Apr 04 '15
He lived a better life than my hens by becoming a minor Internet celebrity. Rest in peace.
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u/Mijeman Apr 04 '15
Come away, come away, death, And in sad cypress let me be laid; Fly away, fly away, breath: I am slain by a fair cruel maid. My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, Oh, prepare it! My part of death no one so true Did share it.
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u/Vanderdandur Apr 12 '15
im sorry for your loss. when i first saw your gifs i laughed and been following you since that day. when my neighbors dog killed one of my chickens i lost my shit crying cuz she was on of my first flock that i raised from a chick, to add to it my gf had to find the dog killing the bird when i called her.
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u/Vanderdandur Apr 12 '15
i know they are chickens but the still feel the same as dogs or cats when you raise them from lil chicks to be full grown egg layers and that shit hits your hard!
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u/AkioUK Apr 12 '15
It was a really horrible feeling when I was so sure I was going to find him alive somewhere pecking at the grass in a field nearby, but then saw him lying motionless under a tree
I just wish he had died peacefully :(
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u/I_AM_A_DOLPHIN_AMA Apr 04 '15
"Like 5,000 candles in the wind"
Take it easy in rooster heaven, Brian.
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u/spunkush Apr 05 '15
RIP Brian, always had a soft spot for him, the unappreciated father. But he lives on through his offspring
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u/2cynical4magic Apr 05 '15
So very sorry to hear about Brian. I've really enjoyed reading up on all your chickens, but was especially touched by Brian's story as an outcast, a loner, and a bad ass. I feel like he was misunderstood but hopefully in time, his children will realize he did the best he could and loved them all in his own way.
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u/gsurfer04 Apr 05 '15
Do you plan on sustaining a certain number of chickens?
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u/AkioUK Apr 05 '15
I think we'll probably have at least 3 layers most of the time, 2 of our original 4 hens are dead (RIP Dave & Bart) but they died not too long before Greyling, Effy and Star were born, so when they started laying we now have 5, which is more than enough :P
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u/Freddies_Mercury Apr 10 '15
Came for my weekly check and was met with devastating news. :( RIP Brian.
I'll always be #TeamBrian!
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u/exedryl Apr 04 '15
That could've been good eating man
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u/AkioUK Apr 04 '15
I would never eat a friend
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u/exedryl Apr 04 '15
He is part of you then though
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u/AkioUK Apr 04 '15
Well actually, once roosters start crowing and the hormones kick in, their meat becomes quiet rough and not exactly nice to eat. They are mainly only eaten when they are very young.
But it just wouldn't feel right eating one of our pet chickens, we have grown close to them and treat them like pets, unlike some who just keep them for eggs and eventually eat them
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u/AkioUK Apr 04 '15
Even Greyling came out to help bury him
It is a sad day :(