rgusmer1003
Chirping
- Oct 9, 2017
- 35
- 48
- 54
I've been delaying posting this because it's absolutely heartbreaking. On January 24th our roo, Ren was taken from us.
No, not by the county but by the gigantic, dog sized raccoons we have in Florida. Before we had our 4 hens, it was just our roo, Ren. So he was in the coop outside. When our girls came of age, so to say they took his coop and he was housed in the coop on our back porch.
The night we lost our boy, my husband was away on business in Wisconsin. I locked the girls up and my son did the same for Ren, minus the button latch which was busted and hard to lock. Now I should mention that while my husband was away, the screen on the back porch door leading outside was torn out the night before from the raccoon trying to get the feed off the porch. That night I blocked off the door with cardboard taped to the door and a huge piece of plywood in front all held in place by a car battery and a heavy shop fan. Yes, I went overboard with blocking the door but I wanted him safe.
Now, all of you who love your roosters know they're crowing early and often! Ren was no different. He'd crow when we woke up at 5:30 for maybe an hour and then when my boys were awake at 7:30 he was at it again. It was like he was on our schedule. On this particular morning I woke up and didn't hear anything it was super weird. I did my morning routine and when I looked out the back sliding door it was like a horror scene to me. I saw his beautiful neck feathers and parts of his really tall comb on the ground and the obvious blood. My heart dropped, I was so nervous to look in his coop and when I did he wasn't there. I searched every where for my boy and couldn't find him.
A panicked heartbroken phone call and a 2 flights my.husband was home to me. The next morning he went looking for Ren. Only to find him 5 feet in the tree line. I didn't want to know what his fate was I just new it wasn't good.
Looking back on what happened it seems that the raccoon killed him in his coop and pulled him through the gap in the bottom latch. They managed to get him through the broken screen door and into the woods.
We miss him every single day. He was truly like a 3rd child to me. I'd let him out in the morning and he'd follow me outside to let the girls out and then he'd get on top of the coop and Crow and Crow and Crow! He'd talk to me and walk over to me. I was the only one he wouldn't attack or go after. Watching Ren play with our dog was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen! I look at other Roos like Ren but I wonder if I'll let ever find another with a personality like his!
No, not by the county but by the gigantic, dog sized raccoons we have in Florida. Before we had our 4 hens, it was just our roo, Ren. So he was in the coop outside. When our girls came of age, so to say they took his coop and he was housed in the coop on our back porch.
The night we lost our boy, my husband was away on business in Wisconsin. I locked the girls up and my son did the same for Ren, minus the button latch which was busted and hard to lock. Now I should mention that while my husband was away, the screen on the back porch door leading outside was torn out the night before from the raccoon trying to get the feed off the porch. That night I blocked off the door with cardboard taped to the door and a huge piece of plywood in front all held in place by a car battery and a heavy shop fan. Yes, I went overboard with blocking the door but I wanted him safe.
Now, all of you who love your roosters know they're crowing early and often! Ren was no different. He'd crow when we woke up at 5:30 for maybe an hour and then when my boys were awake at 7:30 he was at it again. It was like he was on our schedule. On this particular morning I woke up and didn't hear anything it was super weird. I did my morning routine and when I looked out the back sliding door it was like a horror scene to me. I saw his beautiful neck feathers and parts of his really tall comb on the ground and the obvious blood. My heart dropped, I was so nervous to look in his coop and when I did he wasn't there. I searched every where for my boy and couldn't find him.
A panicked heartbroken phone call and a 2 flights my.husband was home to me. The next morning he went looking for Ren. Only to find him 5 feet in the tree line. I didn't want to know what his fate was I just new it wasn't good.
Looking back on what happened it seems that the raccoon killed him in his coop and pulled him through the gap in the bottom latch. They managed to get him through the broken screen door and into the woods.
We miss him every single day. He was truly like a 3rd child to me. I'd let him out in the morning and he'd follow me outside to let the girls out and then he'd get on top of the coop and Crow and Crow and Crow! He'd talk to me and walk over to me. I was the only one he wouldn't attack or go after. Watching Ren play with our dog was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen! I look at other Roos like Ren but I wonder if I'll let ever find another with a personality like his!
