09/29/2026
Meet Poe. 🖤🐣
The morning after my Soot disappeared, (a black Naked neck chicken also referred to as a Turken) I found a clutch of eggs and recognized some of hers among them. I had no idea how long they had been sitting outside unattended, whether any were still viable, or whether we had any chance at all. But after a frantic plea, I borrowed an incubator and tucked them inside anyway, holding on to one tiny piece of hope that maybe Soot had left something of herself behind for us.
The very next day, another hidden clutch hatched in the barn, and among those babies were Strawberry and Jellybean — two little Naked Necks who are now two weeks old, thriving with their siblings. At the time, I remember saying that I didn’t even care whether they were Soot’s babies or not. (I added 3 more naked neck hens in the spring)
There was no way to know, and somehow it didn’t matter. They were exactly what my heart needed.
Then yesterday, the incubator began to hatch.
The third baby out was this tiny, soot-black Naked Neck.
Poe.🖤
And I cried actual tears.
There was no question in my heart. This was Soot’s baby. After all the years of her sitting and raising everyone else’s babies around here she never hatched a naked neck of her own… but I still hoped.
Through the evening and overnight, Poe was joined by eight more siblings, all doing beautifully — including another little Naked Neck, a yellow baby I’ve named Lenore.
Sometimes the tiniest little bit of hope really is enough.
Nothing will replace Soot, and my heart still hurts for the chicken I never fully understood had become such an important little part of my life until she was gone. But this baby has healed a piece of that hurt I didn’t quite know what to do with.
I think Soot would be awfully proud. 🖤
And needless to say, Poe will now be guarded like Fort Knox. 😂