The Mel Monroe actress took to Instagram. Alexandra Breckenridge has shared

a heartbreaking update with fans. Taking to Instagram on Sunday, the actress held back tears

as she revealed that her rooster, who’s been with the family for four years, had been killed at her home in Georgia.

Posting on her Stories, Alexandra, 42, explained that the rooster had been taken from the chicken coop, likely by a coyote. “We have two chickens left, so Joey was a part of our OG chicken group – we had chickens that were our first chickens. So Joey and Monica were left, and now…” she said, her voice breaking.

Alexandra currently resides in a two-story house just outside of Atlanta. After tying the knot with musician Casey Hooper in 2015, the actress and her husband welcomed two children – a son, Jack, in 2016 and a daughter, Billie, in 2017. It was at this point that the couple decided to trade Los Angeles for the quiet suburbs of Georgia.

“The rural areas of Georgia have an amazing sense of community we were lacking in L.A.,” Alexandra previously told Atlanta Magazine. “We wanted our children to grow up in a place where they could play and ride their bikes that didn’t feel like a big city.”

Alexandra, who often shares updates on her home life, has recently returned to Georgia after wrapping season six of Virgin River in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The TV star, who plays Mel Monroe, began production on the latest instalment in February. After a three-month shoot, Jack Sheridan actor, Martin Henderson, confirmed that the cast had reached the “final stretch” of filming with a post on Instagram.

“It takes an army! Final stretch of shooting Season 6 of #virginriverseries… makeup making me presentable for shooting the last few scenes. Been a huge season with a lot of what I hope makes you fans very happy,” he penned on the platform.

Currently, details surrounding season six are being kept under wraps, although Alexandra has revealed that she became “emotional” on set after a kind gesture from Annette O’Toole, aka Virgin River mayor Hope McCrea.

Speaking on the I Like You Very Much podcast, which she co-hosts with her BFF Zibby Allen, Alexandra explained that Annette had encouraged her to leave the set in Vancouver and catch her flight home to Georgia while they were still filming a scene together.

“I got so emotional when you were like, ‘Go. Just go,” she told Annette while holding back tears. “Because I missed my kids so much and you completely understood and you were just like, ‘Go’.”

Fanning her face to dry her tears, Alexandra added: “I was so emotional at the time, I don’t think I ever let it out or said anything but I was so appreciative.”

Reassuring her co-star, Annette pointed out how important family is. “I didn’t know up until that point,” she said. “You could have gone earlier and not worried about getting to your plane because there’s nothing more important than that. Nothing.”