This was an amazing read. You write incredibly well, loved it. What is getting your chickens the Raccoons and other Vermin? When I lived in Mass my Dad had Chickens and he would put them in a coop to sleep at night. We had a lot of problems with the garden and the Gophers. I have an 11 year old Chihuahua that used to be blue and now he is gray with white hairs. I cant even think about how I will feel when it is his time. In the past I have outlived 2 dogs and both times I was in rough shape. I think they are harder to say goodbye too than most humans as weird as it sounds to say that. He is the baby of our house. Pretty close to speaks like a human when he wants something. So much personality in that little guy.
Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful response..
Ah, the chickens. I have never seen one actually taken but they have all disappeared. We have a lot of aerial predators, foxes, and I don't know what else. I know my three babies this year were eaten by a fox because I saw it hanging around in the morning and had to chase it away.
Two were senselessly killed and left by stray hunting dogs, and, of course, if you read the first chick story which I will try to translate to a steemit post someday, you will know that the Buff moved to New York City to make power costumes for the rich and famous.
The chicks from last year never went in the coop except to eat so they found various places to sleep all over the place. We had a very aggressive rooster at the time and I had to keep them separate.
When he "disappeared" those chickens still wouldn't go in the coop. Lee is the last of that group and now she is stuck in the coop and a small run because a different dog came up here and attacked her. She lost a lot of feathers so I am not going to let her out until this fall.
Cali was my replacement when all the boys went off to live their own lives. The runt of the litter with an improper coat, lost her leg when she ran into the tire of a truck, she still made it to 14. In many ways it felt like losing one of my children. Yeah I cried a lot writing that part. It hurt so much I will never get another one.
How did you manage to try again after the first and then the second?
We always had problems with predators too, I dont know how my dad managed to do pretty well with keeping the chicken alive. Of course we where not on 23 acres so I imagine we had a lot less Vermin. It took me a few years in between the dogs to feel ok to get another one, but I always feel so much better when I have one of those little furry guys around. I just try to give them the best life I possibly can and try to look at all the great moments. Death is never an easy thing to deal with no matter what but we are destined to have to deal with it the best that we can unfortunately.
Very heartfelt response. I thank you.
Between the dog and the chickens this has been a year filled with death and it hurts so much.
If I was younger...