Agnes Carroll-Hill

We’ve lovingly hand-raised Agnes and her four sisters since two days after they hatched December 11th, 2020. She was our best friend and we’ll always love her more than words can say. We don’t have a favorite, but Agnes was special and had so much personality, and our family will be missing a lot without her. She was a runt with a reoccurring bumblefoot infection (despite many vet visits and countless weeks of at-home medical care), and bottom of the pecking order her entire life. But she was our first girl to lay an egg, and she probably had more personality than any of her other sisters, and she was definitely the noisiest and loudest. Any time spent in the waiting room of the veterinarian’s office meant compliment after compliment about how beautiful she was. She really was beautiful, we hope she knows. On top of that, she was intelligent, hilarious, meek and spunky at the same time, personable, spirited, independent, loving, timid, curious, strong, and kind. We had to take special care to pour her an extra pile of feed and give her treats separately so she wouldn’t get bullied out of her meals. We don’t remember how many times we sat in the restroom and doctored up her pecked comb, gave her an epsom salt soak, or bandaged up her little foot. We would give anything to be able to do that one more time. Agnes loved sun bathing, dirt bathing, tearing up flowerbeds, hollering just to get us to come outside, fighting for the most coveted nesting box, free ranging all day, jumping up in our laps and cuddling on her terms only, spending time playing and resting with her sisters, and eating all kinds of treats but especially bugs, grapes, fresh sweet corn, and cherry tomatoes. Anyone who had the pleasure of knowing Agnes has said multiple times over that she was given the best life, with the most diligent love, care and tenderness, of any chicken they’ve ever known. We feel like a piece of us is gone now, and we don’t know how we could ever feel okay again, but we know we will. We know she’s still with us, and we know we’ll see her again. Knowing and caring for Agnes has been one of the greatest joys of our lives. Even if she is no longer here physically, she will always be with us and she will always be a part of our little family, and we’ll miss her ‘till the day we get to meet her again. Until then her memory is one of our lives’ greatest blessings. Now she can go on with whatever her work is next. Now her soul is free, and the love that we share with her is invulnerable to the winds of changing time and space.

Agnes is survived by her two devoted papas, lifelong partners Jamie Carroll-Hill and Harlan Carroll-Hill, her sisters and flock-mates Hattie, Rhonda, Frida, and Muriel, and her house-cat little sister, Foot-Foot. Our entire family will miss Agnes forever, and the immense love we had for her and the beautiful memories we made in her lifetime could never be encapsulated in words. Her spirit is one of a kind and could never be replaced. We’re so grateful for the time we got to spend taking care of her. Losing her hurts worse than anything, but still, even with all the pain, the love was worth it. We would never give up the time we spent together, and we know we’ll find each other again. Thank you, Agnes. 

If you want, please take some time to hold Agnes and our family close in your heart. Light a candle for her, water your garden for her, throw out some birdseed for her, be kind to a stranger for her, spend some time under the sunrise or stars for her. If you pray, please keep Agnes and our family in your prayers. She’s will always be so tremendously loved. We hope she can feel it.