i woke up kinda late this morning, wanted to sleep in longer but i had some client work to do, so i didn’t want to be at work too late.
i got into the day spa and looked out at the chickens and noticed a) they weren’t out yet and b) their water bucket was tipped over, which usually indicates an empty bucket.
i took off my gear and headed to the run, knowing it would be a while before matt woke up, and didn’t want to leave them without water.
immediately, i saw maryanne laying in a puddle, dead. my first thought was that she had an impacted egg, or whatever. but it was still weird that no one else was out, so i checked inside the coop and only saw three girls. then, i looked in the run again and Sam was next to the water bucket…
also, someone was missing.
there were so many feathers and guts.
i didn’t know what to do, but i woke matt up and asked for his help. eventually, we determined the intruder broke in through the coop window and probably scared the three out into the run and ripped a corner of the run to take one of them with.
the remaining three cried all day… i was fortunate enough to stay home and work, but around 1:30, i couldn’t stand hearing their sadness anymore, so i left. when i got home, two of them (lucy and mrs howell) were outside, looking around, their crows were hoarse. poor girls…
jeannie still wouldn’t come out. she had been stuck under the coop all night, probably watching as her friends were decimated. her comb is bloody, but she won’t let me near her to take a look. i hope it doesn’t get infected.
most of all, i hope the asshole raccoon, fox, opossum, or whatever doesn’t come back tonight. they won’t be able to handle it.
we reinforced all of the chicken wire that was clearly an issue, closed the ladies into the coop and shut the window, even though it’s so humid out. i added some dog fur and tin foil to the window frame, hoping it will deter whatever it is that came around last night.
they weren’t even done laying…