Pipd's Peeps 2014!

I am beyond sick right now. I'm also really, really sorry that I have to post this right after all of the celebration today. We lost Diana, and in the 10 years I have had chickens now, I don't believe I've lost a bird in quite such a horrific way. I counted my girls as I always do before closing up the coop and I came up one short. Diana was not known to wander, so this immediately made me uneasy. My dad and I searched their yard and fenced 'free-range' area, and all I found was a pile of barred feathers just on the other side of the fence. I was in shock, I didn't know what to do, but dad insisted on following the trail of feathers out into the woods.

When he returned, that was when it really got horrific. He had found her, alive, but badly wounded. Badly, badly wounded. For those unable to handle graphic descriptions, I will hide what I'm talking about here.


Suffice it to say, she could not be saved. I looked at her, and I had this strong urge to heal her. I wanted to help her. I wanted to bring her back. But realistically, what kind of life would she have like that? We had no means of gently putting her down (as Louise had been, I mean) on hand, so dad told me to go inside, and he took care of it. Don't worry, it was quick, just not a pretty thing to watch.

I'm so destroyed over this. We have had a raccoon visiting every night, but my coops are secure enough that I didn't think anything of it. I never thought that it would come early enough to grab one of my hens before I went out to lock them in. I'm so sick to my stomach, and I can't think straight. I keep thinking if I had only checked back there first, I could have stopped this before it happened... Realistically, I don't think that's true, but I'm going to need some time to fully convince myself of that.






Diana, Diana, Diana...

I named Diana after my favorite author as a child, Diana Wynne Jones. She was the pushy one. She never knew her own strength and whenever she wanted your attention, she would make it known by pinching--hard! She would often peck at my shirt or pant leg for attention, seeming not to realize how close my skin was underneath the cloth. OUCH.

She was the adventurous one of her barred sisters. She would always fly the fence to get a jump start on free-ranging, back before she was too heavy to heft her big butt up that high. She was a stubborn one, and when she first started laying eggs years ago, it was out in the woods. I had to train her to use the nests, a task that took months, but she never strayed from that point on.

She was always so bright-eyed and friendly. Too friendly, and much too pushy as well. She would run right up to my niece and nephew when they were really small, just looking for attention, and they would run away screaming, leaving sweet Diana there with a look on her face like, "What?"

Diana, my hair-pulling, leg-pinching goon of a henny. She turned 4 years old closer to the beginning of this month. At least her last day with us was a celebration, and she was able to pig out and scratch around and have a good time.




Her last picture, chowing down on the hatchday cake today.

I'm so terribly terribly sorry Kristin. What an awful loss I really hope this year starts looking up for you and your flock.

I'm so so sorry that this happened.

Oh no... To see all the fun hatch day posts, and then to read this? I am so sorry this happened. My heart hurts for you. Hoping things start looking up for you.

for the support.

To follow up on my last post, we trapped a couple raccoons over the past nights. I don't know if either was the one, or just the ones that have been visiting every night, or even if those were one in the same. To be honest, I cannot feel vengeful toward these animals. Years ago, I lost two pullets and a Guinea hen to a very young opossum (long story short, that was back when I learned that I did need to close the coop every night), and all I remember about that animal was how scared it looked when I shined the flashlight in the coop and found it there. They are surviving, and if something happens that one of my birds is vulnerable to attack, that is certainly not a predator's fault for taking advantage of that vulnerability. So the raccoons that were trapped, regardless of whether they did that to Diana or not, were taken care of without any spite or malice, and any further that are trapped will be given the same treatment.


I think it's about time for a fresh start. Here’s the link to the new thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/984955/pipds-peeps

I feel the same way about predators. As much as I want to hate them, they are not killing pets for fun, they are just doing what they were born to do. I can't hate them for that, they dont know that they're taking your pet. I hope you are doing better. I just had to put my favorite hen to sleep yesterday, so I am also greiving.cant wait to follow the new thread.

I am so sorry for the loss of Diana.

We lost one of ours to a predator last week...she was the flighty one and ran under the playhouse when we rounded everyone up for the night. I honestly didn't realize that anyone could fit under the playhouse so had never put up anything to block them out. We couldn't coax her out. She had survived one night outside on her own a few months ago but we have bobcats, foxes, raccoons, and possums in this neighborhood and she didn't survive this time.

The Hatch Day pictures were inspiring...I have told the boys that we will initiate Hatch Day celebrations after the big Boy Scout camping trip (starts today....sigh).

Thank you, and so sorry both of you for your losses.

Our old coop had the same problem, a gap that the hens could just squeeze under. They never slept under there, but when we finally moved it to make room for the new coop and yard, we found a bunch of egg-shaped stink bombs. Needless to say, it is now blocked off in its new location, with the Guinea fowl.


Best of luck with your camping trip and Hatchday celebrations! I've continued posting pictures and updates from my flock on the new thread, here, if you're interested in following: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/984955/pipds-peeps