Hi all,
Just sharing news with a community of folks who can relate and probably can offer some solace...
On Thursday night, a stray dog got into our chicken coop and killed all 9 chickens inside (8 layers and 1 rooster - all Rhode Island reds)... they were 19 months old and our first chickens...we never lost a chicken before, not even in the chick stage, so it was very traumatic for us.
We know that this does happen when you choose to live this life...we are fortunate that our 'teenage' chickens (6 bard rocks and 1 leg horn) had not yet been integrated into the hen house and are still well and sound and will start laying next month...one Red must have returned late to the coop( her lucky day) and never made it in to meet her demise (the door must have swung closed during the massacre - both dooming the birds inside but likely saving the teen birds from a similar fate)...so we call her Phoenix (rise from the ashes)...
The stray dog is no more...my husband thought he was a coyote and shot him in the hen house...didn't notice he was a husky... I feel bad for the owners of the dog, but I also am glad that we don't have to fret his return for a 2nd helping or our chickens!
We want our birds to be free range and know there is also risk in that (there's risk in life, isn't there?)...but they have a wonderful life while they're living and that is important to us...
We were going to take a year off from getting babies in the spring, but now we'll be in for another cute spring so we can grow our flock once more...
Thanks for listening...enjoy your day and love your chickens!
Sara in Maine
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