Well so much for free ranging!!!!!

[Chickenaddict]

I lost my little lily today to a predator

I went to go lock up the chickens in the coop for the night and was missing my little brown/red cochin. I went all over the yard with a flash light looking for her and finally came across a huge pile of feathers and her body. She was decapitated and ripped to shreds. I knew i was taking a chance on loosing some when i decided to free range but it has almost been 2 years and had been lucky until today. My hubby seems to think it was a hawk but wouldn't a hawk have taken the whole chicken? I was home all day and i feel responsible for not hearing any warning signs, My roos are really good at sounding the alarm when danger is near but not today. My poor girl was only a little over 5 months old and hadn't even layed her first egg

. Thats it for me im not taking a chance anymore from now on its LOCKDOWN!!!

 

[lilshadow]

Sorry to hear about your Lily..

 

[BeakSanctuary]

Yes, sorry for your loss, Chickenaddict. RIP, lily.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I am so sorry for the loss of your Lily.

 

[missourichickenmama]

i know,i free range too,but for me it was worth the risk, i valued their freedom and wanted them to be free more than trapped in a pen, it is still VERY hard to lose some chickens. once i had a chicken that always came when i called,was one of the nicest,and followed me around, suddenly turned up missing.the next day i found her feathers,please don't laugh at me, but i buried the feathers and kept one of the tail feathers. i still miss her.

i know how you feel. i am sorry for your loss.

 

[Chickenaddict]

Thank you guys, I value their freedom too and hate to take it away but i love them like they are my children since i can't have kids of my own. She was a real sweety and soo young, I suppose its never easy to loose one. I am not sure yet if i can continue to free range after this, I feel so overwhelmed with guilt right now. Guess i will have to sleep on it

. As far as burying feathers i would have done the same thing, in fact when i get home from work tomorrow i will bury the pile of feathers along with her body next to the cat we buried a few months ago and other chickens we have lost to injuries R.I.P my lil lily poo.

 

[Chirpy]

I'm really sorry about the loss of your little girl. It's so devastating to lose a pet we love.

You are the only one that can make the decision on whether to let your chickens enjoy the freedom of free ranging in the future or keep them on lock down. You need to weigh the pros and cons and decide if you can handle the potential loss of another valued chicken. If you can't, then don't feel guilty - just do the best for them in that situation.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[conroy]

Oh my goodness she was beautiful...so sorry.

 

[ozark hen]

so sorry

 

[gumpsgirl]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your Lily. It would probably be smart to not free range for awhile, because something has figured out where dinner is and more than likely will be back. Keep a close eye out. Again, so sorry.