It’s always so sad when we lose one of our girls and it’s doubly sad when they go after only enjoying a short retirement with us.

Beatrice arrived at Mulberry Cottage in July 2016 with her flock sisters, all named after Shakespearean heroines as 2016 marked 400 years since the great man’s demise.

She was a lovely character with her cute little noises which always made me smile.

But Bea wasn’t a fan of our Hattie. On two occasions, our spaniel managed to knock Bea over whilst running through the hen garden and Bea rolled over like a football. Well, a hen never forgets and Bea had it in for Hattie after that and, when we brought Bea into the house for her medication and Hattie decided to say hello, Bea squared up to her, feathers puffed out!

When we realised Bea wasn’t well, we did all we could to make her comfortable but, although she was still enjoying all her favourite treats including fresh redcurrants from the garden, her condition meant that she wasn’t able to digest her food properly and the vet soon detected a tumour.

We were desperately sad to have to say goodbye to our lovely girl. She really deserved a longer retirement, but I hope she enjoyed her last year with us because we loved having her as part of our family.