Shakespeare has ruined me

A few weeks ago I had to get up early for a surgery on one of our hens.  My vet friend can use the surgical suite and equipment for her chicken clients but only before or after regular working hours. 

So that means we start at seven.  Almost like I was a working tech again! Yikes.  Up at 05:30.  I am not a morning person, it's something that I struggle with.  Of course the farm and surrounding countryside is achingly beautiful at that time.  One of these days I will learn to manage my energy and sleep and not waste all of the beautiful mornings. 

I was driving into the city with Jilly Bean, a cuckoo maran hen we adopted back in January.  She's always been a little 'off''.  

A woman driving ahead of me smacked a flying bird with her car, and the poor bird tumbled and tumbled down the road, dead in front of me.  I was shocked out of my morning stupor.  I pulled up next to the woman, and saw that she was driving with her overweight chihuahua on her lap, and was pretty much oblivious to everything going on around her.  I became instantly angry, 

I was already nervous about the surgery, on edge. Jilly Bean was skinny, and I just didn't feel like she had much of a will to live.  I just wasn't seeing the spark.  I had given her fluids and pain medication the night before, but wasn't seeing much improvement.  This had me concerned for the outcome.

In my lifelong quest to avoid bad or painful things (not that this makes me different that most other people!) I have developed a superstitious nature.  After tragedies, accidents, just regular mistakes that lead to fallout, I start to go back over the events beforehand to search for a lesson.  So my superstition now is that darned and blasted foreshadowing we all studied in our high school Shakespeare lessons. 

Was that bird dying right in front of me a sign that Jilly Bean would not survive her surgery? Yep, that's where my mind went at that early hour.  

I have good news to report.  I was very comfortable with Jill's anesthesia, and although it was a long surgery (1.25 hours) she did fine, and recovered slowly but without complication.  The Dr. removed at least 500g of nasty lash egg yuck from her oviduct.  

She's still recovering slowly, and I've never had so much trouble getting a bird to start eating again. That being said, she's starting to actually vocalize a bit and scratch and hunt when I put her in her chicken tractor out on grass during the day.  I'll take those signs as will to live for sure.  Forget you, Shakespeare.