Hen house burnt down tonight. Didn't lose them all, just the dumb ones who didn't get out - they weren't closed in, and had the entire yard to escape to. Found many survivors, but not sure how many. I will know better in the morning, it's almost midnight here. No one got hurt, and it's not near the house. But it's burnt to the ground, and it's around 32 F outside, so I'll have to scratch together a quick shelter for the remaining birds. Saw a few BC running around, but it's hard to know in the dark.
Fortunately, I have about 50 chicks growing out in the basement from any of the ones I've lost. I'm just wondering if it's time to scale back a bit, or even call it quits. Winter always makes me feel like the whole chicken thing is getting out of control. Then come spring it's all easy and sunshine and I love it. Now I find myself wondering what life would be like without chickens. In some ways, very sad, but I'm wondering what I could do with all the extra time, if I could just move on and get over it. Not sure now. It just happened a couple hours ago and hasn't settled in.
