We lost seven of our eight chickens last night and have absolutely no idea what happened. Their pen was secure and no evidence of how they got out. I’ll spare you all the details but suffice it to say, I’m pretty saddened by the loss. I also feel really sorry for the one remaining chicken. She acts terrified and I’m sure she’ll be lonely. I hadn’t planned to get more chicks this spring but I guess I’ll have to. Here’s a picture of my beloved Betsy. She was from our first batch three and a half years ago. I had hoped she was the one remaining but that’s not the case:
RIP Betsy
If that one chicken that is left is terrified, chances are it was something horrible that happened to the rest. Did the other ones have their heads still on?? An owl will swoop down and remove the heads..
So Sorry, Dee. That is so sad. I always worry about mine. We have had a bear into our chicken feed the last few nights and have had to put that in a secure place. It has not tried to bother the coop, yet! Fish and Game Dept. gave us rubber shot to shoot the bear off with. Will have to see what happens. I understand your sadness. I know they are just birds, but I am attached to mine as well.
I am so sorry that you lost your chickens. We had what I called a massacre last year when 2 free-roaming bird dogs killed 20 of our chickens, including my favorite rooster. They killed 15 the first day, the second day I kept the chickens in their fenced yard and the dogs actually climbed the fence! I cried for 1/2 hour that first day. We had to pretty much start over. We just lost a few chickens last month – we don’t know what killed them.
Thanks, everyone. Even though they are “just chickens” it is still sad to lose them.