Chicken Troubles
Last week, we had 5 chickens... this week we have 3. It was really obvious what happened to Thelma (an Aruacana) since I had to remove her racoon-ravaged carcass [don't click here!] from our yard early in the morning.
It's less clear what happened to Henny (a Rhode Island Red). Henny was by far the oldest as she was one of our first two chickens and we got her as a mature hen in 2001. It's quite possible that she took the "long trip into the woods" that a sick chicken might take. But, it was a terrific coincidence that they both were gone the same day. Sad, of course.
To give the raccoons a bit less chance (as crafty as they are), the chicken coop got its electric fencing remodeled and got a new door. Louise (yes, Thelma's partner) is so undone either by her partner's disappearance or by the new door that we now have to chase her into the coop each night. Hopefully, she'll adapt to the situation before we get tired of chasing her in. 
After today's report of hundreds of chickens killed or running loose in the highway in a traffic accident, I think we should all direct our best wishes to chickens in the upcoming weeks.
so what does it mean that you took the picture
I did click on but was too "chicken" to continue
Comment by barb — 11/10/2004 7:41 PM
Barb, it's a good question why to take the picture. After a certain point in blogging, the first thing you think of when something really affects your life is... how can I best express this online.
Comment by Michael Moore — 11/10/2004 9:43 PM
The odd thing is that it is really a beautiful picture. It's colorful, well-composed, and aesthetically pleasing (especially considering it's of a mutilated chicken carcass). I hope those raccoons have been stopped for good.
Comment by Tvindy — 11/11/2004 1:35 AM
yeah, I turned back, too much sorrow to ask for more.
Comment by kk — 07/25/2005 2:18 PM
[...] Anne Marie ran to the end of her patience with the raccoons. Tired of worrying about missing chickens, or possibly missing chickens, or mangled pheasants, she indicated it was time to send them on a permanent vacation. [...]
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