Chicken Drama

This is one of those posts I mentioned a while back…one about the drama associated with the feathered critters around our farm.  🙂

About two years ago our family decided to add chickens to our small farm.  Although we would be considered chicken novices, I know, without a doubt, that our chickens understand we are their friends.  From the start each little one has been around us, cared for, played with, and held often (especially by the kids) while we have been outside.

   Yet, the chickens have also had their fair share of scares during the last two years.

Although they have had run of the farm during the day, we put them in the coop at night, which also has an attached outdoor area with triple fencing!  After several episodes of finding only the feathers of a chicken IN THE COOP with no sign of a predator’s entrance or exit we set a live trap.  (apparently something was eating them through the fence!)  We were astounded to steadily capture 2 feral tom cats (very vicious and mean), 3 possums, and 5 raccoons over a period of time!  Oh my!  I could just imagine the drama in movie form which had been taking place at night.  Poor chickens.  I am thankful to say, we are well beyond that window of time!

The chickens have continued to enjoy roaming free during the day, interacting with us, following us around, chasing the cats away from their own food, etc…

Well, they had been running free until I went out to do the evening chores a few weeks ago and discovered one of our chickens dead, laying half eaten by our shed!  What?  What could have taken her?

Then I remembered one of our cats, Larry, catching my attention through one of the windows earlier that day.  He looked similar to this:

 I remember him intently watching something in a slightly crouched position.  I remember being surprised when he stayed that way for a long time.  I remember even going to several windows trying to see what had so fully captured his attention for such a lengthy amount of time.  Hmmmm  He immediately became our first suspect.  Yet, it didn’t make sense!  The chickens kinda push the cats around, they steer clear of the “ladies”.

After two days of looking suspiciously at Larry, the possible chicken killer, I again noticed him crouched to the ground watching something intently when I looked out one of our windows!  I immediately began trying to see what he might be watching.  I went from window to window looking from different angels.  Nothing.  Ugg!  He remained motionless, watching for such a LONG time!  I was determined to see what had captivated his attention!  It could be a link to what had taken Daisy, the chicken we lost a few days prior!

I never would have seen what Larry was watching had there not been some movement to give this critter away…but, it did move and I did see it.  I never would have thought of this being the culprit, but suddenly it all made sense!  It was:

a HAWK!

I told you we were novices when it came to chickens.  An aeriel predator never even entered our heads!  Poor Larry, and here we thought he might have done it!

Needless to say, the chickens went through a period of quarantine and were not allowed out of the coop for quite some time.  Thinking the hawks had by now forgotten all about our chickens, we decided to let them run around again.  Unfortunately, after only a few days of being out, we lost another chicken.  🙁  The hawks are sharp!  They are also everywhere!

I am sorry for the poor quality of the two photos above but they are the only ones I have been able to take.  I have tried and tried to get a tight shot of a hawk but they always fly away long before I get close.  Even with a telephoto I could not get a good shot.  🙁  Anyway, they are all over the place.  We see them on power poles, fence posts, hovering on the wind currents, and flying over fields.  While I realize a hawk must eat too, I just really wish they would leave our “Sweet Baby Chicks”, as we still call them, alone!

And that, my friends, is the current drama related to our chickens!