I am so sad! I went out of town for the first time since getting our six 5-week-old chicks and left them in the care of a good friend of mine. They have been living in a wire dog crate in our laundry room but were just about ready to go into their brand new coop. to make it easier for my friend, I took the crate over to her house rather than making her come to my house to feed and water the chicks. She lives in downtown urban Durham, NC, so we thought it would be safe to put them on her back patio. Not so! The first night they were there, all six of them were killed by a raccoon. Right through the wires of the crate. My poor friend had to find them like that. I just can't believe it. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently. I will never EVER put chickens in anything outside that isn't completely covered in hardware cloth again. They were all so happy and healthy. And really, really tame. My eight-year-old son (who is a mess about this) could call them into his lap for snuggles. One of them regularly fell asleep, neck stretched out, in my son's hands. We miss their little cheeps so much! Being a first time chicken keeper, I had no idea how attached I would get to those little guys.
