One missing.... :(

[norcal]

My BR's just started laying a couple of weeks ago. We got 4 eggs this morning. Tonight I was 15 mins late closing the coop (son was getting his hair cut, 1st day of school tomorrow), and one hen is missing.

Hubby was covering the top of the run, and we ran out of wire. It's 95% complete, well, I guess that 95% was not good enough. I may know more in the morning, but probably not. No feathers, blood, bent wire.....

I know you guys hear this stuff all the time, but had no where else to vent, and I know you all understand my tears.

-Laurie

 

[Peaguy]

Ot's tough not knowing what happened. Perhaps she is just roosting somewhere comfy tonight and will show up safe and sound for breakfast?
I too am dreading the trip to the coop in the morning as it was well after dark when I got home tonight and went to close the coop for the night only to find a smallish 3 botton rattlesnake comfortably coiled on the coop floor just waiting. Well, not the kinda thing a gimpy armed weaponless man wants to find at 11:00 P.M. In the dark when the handiest weapon of any kind is a garden rake all the way across the run, yup, when I got back with it sneaky snake was gone! And he drank all my root beer too!(Was that Tom T. Hall?) Go figure! So the snake hunt is on in the morning! I wouldn't bother but this is a rattler and it is not uncommon for me to go feed breakfast in my barefeet in sandals in the mornings but that will not be happening for a while!

Laurie hope all is well with your wayward hen! It will be difficult but try to get some rest tonight!
I HATE rattlesnakes with a passion!

 

[norcal]

Thanks peaguy! Hubby just killed a rattle snake here last week, with the axe. I almost set my (chickens) ice bottles on top of him, he was sitting right under the water spigot I use to wash the bottles off - so they can go back in the freezer. Gave me the heebie jeebies.

I will try to rest. My beagle went after something tonight and was doing her hound dog howl, so I'm thinking it was a raccoon or similar. She didn't stink, so I'm guessing it's not the skunk we've been seeing around here, unless she got lucky & didn't get sprayed.

 

[Peaguy]

ooooh my hate list
1. rattlesnakes
2. skunks
3. dogs sprayed by skunks
4 dogs sprayed by skunks who insist their place is right beside the bed at 3:00 A.M.! or worse yet on the bed!

 

[Chickiechick]

Sending you

and posative vibes that she's safe and you'll find her in the morning.

Just to help you be a little less worried I went out to lock my pullets up last week and 3 of the 4 were missing. Number 4 was hunkered down under the coop terrified. My heart sank. No blood, feathers or evidence of an attack. After a long search of my yard (tiny) I finally found the missing 3 behind a shed tucked up next to the neighbors fence. They were very quiet and hunkered down. No idea how they got out. Calmly herded them back to the coop/run and no adventures since.

 

[norcal]

Thank you chickiechick. SHE CAME BACK!!

I feel like such a goober, jumping the gun & being all worried. Oh well.

A happy ending is a good thing....