i just lost two

[SusanMc]

the reason im blameing myelf is cus i was the last one at the coop.

So was I, but things sometimes happen even when we try our best...

 

[Mutchi]

So was I, but things sometimes happen even when we try our best...

I remember locking the coop and woke up in the morning with it wide open. And soon found two wings and a body without a wing and head.

 

[SusanMc]

I remember locking the coop and woke up in the morning with it wide open. And soon found two wings and a body without a wing and head.

Oh how horrible, with mine, I had a small dog cage under the roost, we had no signs of weasels but we do have rats. I think it came in following a rat, killed my best biggest Plymouth Rock, dragged her out to the far end of the run, broke the neck of another Plymouth Rock, had another by the neck but she survived. We tried to trap it, waited with a gun but it didn’t come back til 2 weeks later and got one of my 6 month Production Red hens. I was devastated, but After the emotions settled, I secured my coop better, and began to focus on the chickens that were left. I did up my game and got smarter...well I hope so. Have a cup of sweet tea and breathe...good luck with your flock

 

[YoGo]

i lost two chicks to a fox, my parents ay that they will die but they dont understand what its like to loose a very valued pet. all pets should die happy, not torn apart peace by peace then soon found by the owners. we think the fox figured out how to open the coop gate, but i cant help but blame myself.

I feel you, people who i live with always claim that these chickens are meant to be killed, which in a way they aren't wrong. But it doesn't mean we don't have love for them or they're driven for death. They are pets too and we love them. I understand how you feel, i lost one of my favorite hen, named biggs, to a possum and i cried a while. She was a bullied chicken among the flock and i was forced to separate her. Everyday i picked fresh fruit and fed it to her and every now and then I'd let her out and talk to her how i felt. Sadly she passed but i still remember. I am still saddened till this day but i like to think she loved me and loved me giving her fresh fruit and never excluding her from my life. And im sure your hen thought so too. Its sad to see them pass but you were a great owner for being part of her life. Don't blame yourself, everything will be good, plus this is a way to prevent another incident similar to this to happen again. All the support! Feel better!

 

[Callender Girl]

It is horrifying and gut-wrenching to have to collect parts of your birds. They are not "just chickens," and you and I know that. I lost three of my four original hens because ONE night, I forgot to lock the coop door.

My dog woke me up to the sounds of a mink attack and before I could get outside, only my Buff Orpington was left. The mink had tried to pull my Sicilian Buttercup, Mia, through the side of the run and had wedged her head into the wire. It dropped Samantha and Ginger Rogers right where they were trying to hide in the coop.. Mink don't eat their kills, they leave them behind. It was freezing cold out and I couldn't bury my girls. I literally had to throw them in the garbage, and I cried buckets.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Humans make mistakes, humans forget to do things. No one is perfect. If you have to blame yourself, use that blame to remind yourself not to repeat the same mistake. Years later, I actually walk around all my (too many) coops once everyone is locked in and check a second -- and sometimes a third time -- to make sure I locked every coop door.

No matter how much you love your birds, no matter how hard you try to keep them safe, it's pretty much a given that at some point, something bad will happen. What you can do is take the best care of them that you know how to, make sure that the lives they lead are good ones, no matter low long or short those lives are.

Take care.

 

[Mutchi]

thanks for all the love! we set up cams yesterday and found out it wasnt foxes! it was a skunk! a very large one! in the cam's pics it looked to be trying to digg into the coop run... we saw a picture of the cat walking past the camra and thought it was a fox lol! there for, i hate SKUNKS not foxes!

 

[Mutchi]

ill try to get a scren shot of the skunk.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

i lost two chicks to a fox, my parents ay that they will die but they dont understand what its like to loose a very valued pet. all pets should die happy, not torn apart peace by peace then soon found by the owners. we think the fox figured out how to open the coop gate, but i cant help but blame myself.

 

[Reliablesquirrel]