It already came and is gone,
@sunflour . Her birthday was Monday the 28th. I didn't word that very well!
DMC, you have had your battles, that's for sure. I never lost a bird to a predator so I can't even imagine what that's like.

It's not that my setup was so great (even though I think it was) or that mine didn't free range all the time (they did) - it's just that my number never came up before their new owner came and took all of mine to his place. With predators, it's usually just a matter of "when", not "if" and I know darn well that I was just lucky. The ones I lost were from them being stupid - one ate a bit of wire, one crawled under a board and the board fell on him....see? Being stupid.
Initially we were going to convert the run into a greenhouse. That was the plan yesterday. Then the coop/shed was going to be a place to store lawn equipment, patio furniture, etc. But shoot, if I'm not going to be hear to take care of the original inhabitants, what makes me think plants out there would fare any better? So last night we had the brilliant idea of putting the winter plastic back on the run, taking off the end piece, and just driving the riding mower and the ATV and parking them in there like a garage. We can use the wire from the cattle panels to hang rakes, garden forks, hoses and such during the winter months. We'll still clean out the coop and use it for storage of the grills and furniture and such, so at least the money and work we put into the setup won't be a waste. Sounds like a plan to me. Must. Clean. Run. <sigh> I don't wanna!!

Three years of virtually untouched deep litter in there. Yuck!
Oh, DD - ever the eternal optimist! If you've found a way for the cold to kill off just the stuff you don't want to have around, you are under obligation to share!! (Back me up, guys!!!)
I can't believe it's Labor Day weekend already!! This year has been dead run for us, and I'm still waiting to take a breath!! The last three big holidays for 2017 are Halloween, Thanksgiving, and my favorite, Christmas....then a new year starts! I don't ask for much - could somebody please slow down the speed here?