Had a loss today, so wanted to share here... I am worried that non-BYC people won't understand why a 34 year old woman would cry over a $7 chicken. Here goes...
I'm a first time chicken owner, and I thought that I'd done what I could to keep my ladies safe. We predator-proofed the Chick-N-Barn, and bought a electric poultry fence from Premier for when they are out during the day. But today, just as I was heading out to install a flat panel heater in the coop, I saw a hawk flying up to a tree. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I ran towards the chicken area and found my barred rock Bea screaming at the top of her lungs. I called the ladies but no one came, so I looked inside the coop and counted... only 5 of the ladies were accounted for.
My husband searched the area and found my other barred rock Pearl. Her neck had been broken by the hawk.
She was still warm and I held her while my husband dug a hole to bury her. I am always amazed at how soft chicken feathers are.
Henrietta, one of my two EEs, had a close call. We found a couple big chunks of her feathers around the yard, but she is okay - she is missing a clump of feathers on her chest and has a cut, but it has stopped bleeding so I think she will be alright.
This afternoon we put up pallets against the trees to give the ladies more hiding places (I live in a wooded area), and hung CDs and strips of shiny insulation from the trees. I did a search of the forums here, and those seem to be the best options besides enclosing the run which would be pretty tough in the area we have them in. Hopefully it will work. I can't help but think that if I had just gone outside a minute sooner she would have been okay, but my husband says I can't be home all the time.
Why did they have to kill Pearl of all the chickens? She was my favorite. She would fly up to my shoulder and coo in my ear until I fed her grapes. I called her Pearl the Parrot, and would teasingly scold her "You're not a parrot, you're a chicken!" She was always kind to the other chickens and was the first to come when I called.
R.I.P. Pearl, the flock will not be the same without you. :-(((
I'm a first time chicken owner, and I thought that I'd done what I could to keep my ladies safe. We predator-proofed the Chick-N-Barn, and bought a electric poultry fence from Premier for when they are out during the day. But today, just as I was heading out to install a flat panel heater in the coop, I saw a hawk flying up to a tree. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I ran towards the chicken area and found my barred rock Bea screaming at the top of her lungs. I called the ladies but no one came, so I looked inside the coop and counted... only 5 of the ladies were accounted for.
My husband searched the area and found my other barred rock Pearl. Her neck had been broken by the hawk.
She was still warm and I held her while my husband dug a hole to bury her. I am always amazed at how soft chicken feathers are.
Henrietta, one of my two EEs, had a close call. We found a couple big chunks of her feathers around the yard, but she is okay - she is missing a clump of feathers on her chest and has a cut, but it has stopped bleeding so I think she will be alright.
This afternoon we put up pallets against the trees to give the ladies more hiding places (I live in a wooded area), and hung CDs and strips of shiny insulation from the trees. I did a search of the forums here, and those seem to be the best options besides enclosing the run which would be pretty tough in the area we have them in. Hopefully it will work. I can't help but think that if I had just gone outside a minute sooner she would have been okay, but my husband says I can't be home all the time.
Why did they have to kill Pearl of all the chickens? She was my favorite. She would fly up to my shoulder and coo in my ear until I fed her grapes. I called her Pearl the Parrot, and would teasingly scold her "You're not a parrot, you're a chicken!" She was always kind to the other chickens and was the first to come when I called.
R.I.P. Pearl, the flock will not be the same without you. :-(((
