It’s a sad day here on Klaus Lane. Yesterday all of our chickens were killed in their run.
The pain is a lot more than I expected. It was such a surprise to lose them. Yesterday I walked out to the car and heard Booby crowing like always. By the time Brent went out to check on them, they had all been killed. Parts of the chicken wire were broken, above where we had put hardware cloth, but no bodies were taken. Our theory is that a group of coyotes broke in but were scared away before they could eat their spoils.
I’m especially sad because we’ve raised them since birth. If you look back at the pictures, you can see how small and innocent they were. Brent and I nurtured them through their development and they felt more like pets than farm animals. Their distinct personalities were starting to show. I loved hearing their gentle chicken noises and their excitement when I came out the front door. It’s hard to look at the coop this morning. Feathers are still strewn all over the run.
They were just starting to produce eggs, and they had such a long part of their lives ahead of them. It feels especially senseless because they were killed and not even eaten. Thankfully I didn’t have to see the bodies, because my amazing husband Brent cleaned them up in the morning before work.
I’m still kind of reeling from the whole thing. The chickens made us feel like part-time farmers, and I could tell people with pride about our birds. Now I feel a sense of failure because I didn’t protect them enough. I think we will rebuild and get more chickens, but for now we’re still mourning our losses.
Rest In Peace:
Dorothy
Rose
Blanche
Sophie
Dr. Robinson
Cleo
Aldona
Clifford
Matzah
Lonestar
Myrtle
And Blue Foot Booby, our rooster.
Sarah & Brent – This makes me so sad. My sister and her husband have a small farm with chickens and your words are almost exactly how she describes her flock. She has also lost several and was devastated. It’s hard for people to understand, (they say, “aren’t they just chickens?!”). Even though they are farm animals, they have personalities and are almost like pets. I hope you will rebuild, hard as it may seem right now. Hugs from Austin.