Hello my BYC friends. I have something that I want to share with you all to make you aware of some problems that we are having around my community and it seems to be spreading. Some of you may remember the boy who was on FOX news about having his pair of game chickens stolen. He was my neighbor and a chicken friend too. A few weeks after that happened, another friend and neighbor who I shared some silkies with had a theft. The thief took only his feeder and drinker from the chicken tractor. Thankfully they left the birds. Now I have had some suspicious people showing up here from time to time, almost as if they weren't expecting me to be home. My schedule is not routine, thank goodness. It's been scary enough to me to make me reconsider doing any kind of farm tour here at all. I'm also considering putting up a gate and I have talked to my neighbors about watching my house when I'm not at home. I live near mostly retired people and they don't mind playing community watch for me. Now today, I am heartbroken for a dear friend of mine. She has had a theft of her birds. Someone came in while they weren't home and stole all of her Bragg's Mountain Buff hens. These are birds that she and I have been working with and they were not for sale, but someone saw them and knew what they were worth. Now her year's worth of time and money that she invested in these birds is gone. It just makes me sick and furious. Everyone who sells, please be careful who you have at your farm. I would also like to know what you all do about receiving customers at your farm. And from a customer's viewpoint - if you wanted to buy but weren't allowed to tour the farm and see all of the birds, would you be offended or would you understand? I'm seriously rethinking my policies.