My hens are gone. RIP, my beautiful friends.

[Four Acre Bliss]

Sadly, it took the violent death of ALL our chickens (who had just started to lay after we'd raised them from babies) for my husband to realize I wasn't being paranoid about chicken wire not being sufficient defense against predators. He spent all day reinforcing the run after we'd lost one in the run a few days ago (and two more before that who were free ranging), but didn't reinforce the ONE THING I'd begged him to fix, which was the coop ventilation, which came from the builder with that stupid plastic chicken "wire" instead of proper hardware cloth. It had been okay up to this point because it was up against the chain link run, but in all his fussing around out there yesterday my husband inadvertently created a gap between the run and the coop and a raccoon (or three) tore in there last night and killed all eight of my remaining hens. I am heartbroken. My poor girls. I have been in tears all morning. What a waste. Please don't be abusive, I feel horrible enough already.

I almost wish we'd never moved to the country. My garden is a bug-eaten mess and my beautiful, friendly hens are dead after giving us only two lovely eggs. I don't know what to do next -- we spent so much on the coop and run, we have tons of feed ... I know we should replace them but I don't want to raise them from babies again. Where do you even get full grown hens? What a failure I am .... I am so sorry, my beautiful girls ...

 

[Karrie13]

I am so sorry for your loss.

It is hard to lose even one of the babies you raise up from chicks much less all of them. Take it as a lesson learned, fix all vulnerable areas and check Craigslist for your local area. Someone may be rehoming their flock, there have several of those around here. Don’t be hard on yourself, as beginners we are learning valuable lessons everyday from our birds.

Good luck on finding new ladies.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

Four acre bliss, don't beat yourself up !!!! Sometimes we learn the hard way and I bet your DH feels just awful about everything. I had no idea how much I would worry about chickens before we got ours, but hopefully with time I will learn to relax. You can get pullets from different places and I think you should give it a try. They do bring a different kind of joy that I never realized before. And yes, we live way out and I have to worry more now than when we lived in a neighborhood.

 

[Wifezilla]

Is there a poultry auction in your area? Maybe some helpful BYC members near you need to rehome a few birds??

 

[kagedgoddess]

so sorry my dh also accusses me of being paranoid. you can get full grown hens, or ones close to layin age. you can check your feed store for breeders, the cashiers usually know or can direct you better. or if you are close to madison area i can give you someones name, she has some really pretty birds, i m sorry this happened to you.

 

[b.hromada]

Please don't blame yourself, these things happen, with no fault of our own. You were doing the very best for your girls, and they did know that.
That being said though, it is very sad, we love our girls, and feel awful when something happens to them. I feel horrible for you, it does hurt so bad. Here are some hugs to help you out some

.

 

[Imp]

So sorry

imp

 

[kagedgoddess]

oh auctins, culpeper ag center has poultry auctions, the first and 3rd saturday of every month, And the 2 and 4th sat its at barryville , (clarke co i think?)

 

[Four Acre Bliss]

Quote:
I live right next to Madison. Please PM me any info you have. Thank you so much.

 

[2DogsFarm]

So sorry - the country can be a hard place (ask this former Big City Gal).

Since local County Fairs are starting to happen, consider talking to the 4H kids in the Poultry Divisions about getting some new hens.
Most of them have less-than-showworthy stock they may sell you.

I go "window-shopping" there every Summer for chickens and goats before deciding what I'd like to buy when & if.