Help us mourn our 3 lost chickies...

We have (or had) 7 pet chickens.  Our family LOVES them, even though we've only been chicken owners for 3 months.  We get so much joy out of watching them and petting them and caring for them.  Especially my 4 year old girl, who absolutely adores our feathered friends.

So my daughter and I were having a tea party in her room, and she came into the kitchen to get some graham crackers, and she came running back screaming that the neighbor dogs (weimeraners) were in the yard killing chickens.   We ran the dogs off, but not before they'd killed Nellie the speckled sussex, Betsy the partridge rock, and Lily the Easter egger (the kids' favorite.)  Our faulty gate (which we didn't realize was faulty) was the root of the problem, but the neighbors feel terrible and will be reimbursing us.

But it's not the price of 3 feed store chicks that hurts, and you guys know that.  Remember my children's sad hearts in your prayers tonight.

--Nikki

Thank you all for your support.  I knew people on this site would understand.

DD and I are going to the feed store this morning for 3 new ones.  Our feed store stocks an amazing array of varieties, so it will be interesting to see what we come home with. 

Last night we took the 2 cement blocks that were the support for the play set that the former owners of the house used to have, and put them on either side of the faulty gate...no more weimeraners slipping through!  We're also having the neighbors give us a heads-up before they let the dogs out, so we can round up the chickies into their coop.  It's a small inconvenience, but until we're sure we're dog-proof, it's a smart precaution.

I'm glad we can stay on good terms with the neighbors.  We've really enjoyed living by them.  They have a little boy the same age and the same activity level as our boy, and they have strong family values.  Plus, both of the parents are police officers, so we feel a little safer having them nearby.  They are our ONLY neighbors, too.  Aside from the chicken-chasing, we like the dogs, too.  They're good with the kids, and they're sweet and friendly.  I sure hope we can work this all out...

--Nikki