Something got into my run and killed three of my four birds. I know what the problem was and I've fixed it, but now I have a lonely chicken.
Its sad, and crushing, after all the months and dollars and time spent taking care of them, and piling on top of that is snarky remarks in reply to my looking for a hen to keep my remaining girl company. "Well maybe now you''ll get around to putting that latch on" among others, implying I don't deserve to have more chickens, because a predator got them.
It happens, i'm not the only chicken keeper to ever loose birds to a raccoon, or whatever it was. For the longest time I was screwing a board over the coop door every night, and removing it in the morning, but with a 10 month old son, I just don't have time to do that, so I let them have the run. I figured it would be more secure than free ranging, at least.
Anyone else have any stories about birds lost to predators, because of a stupid mistake?
(Molly's in the house now, I don't even want to put her back outside right now.)
Its sad, and crushing, after all the months and dollars and time spent taking care of them, and piling on top of that is snarky remarks in reply to my looking for a hen to keep my remaining girl company. "Well maybe now you''ll get around to putting that latch on" among others, implying I don't deserve to have more chickens, because a predator got them.
It happens, i'm not the only chicken keeper to ever loose birds to a raccoon, or whatever it was. For the longest time I was screwing a board over the coop door every night, and removing it in the morning, but with a 10 month old son, I just don't have time to do that, so I let them have the run. I figured it would be more secure than free ranging, at least.
Anyone else have any stories about birds lost to predators, because of a stupid mistake?
(Molly's in the house now, I don't even want to put her back outside right now.)