Chicken crisis

Yep. We have chickens. I don't know why. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be living on a "mini-farm" at nearly 40 years old.

Anyway, the girls have named our 6 chickens and love to go hang out with them. Why? I don't know. (Seems like I don't know much, huh?)

Yesterday, they saw a big cat hanging around near the coop and were a little worried that the cat would bother the hens. "No worries," I said. "Those chickens are as big as any cat." At that, we left for piano with the chickens scrapping around in their large fenced in area.

When we returned from their lessons, Sarah made a bee line for the chicken yard and all I could hear was hysterical screeching from her. Apparently 4 of the chickens had been carried off by some hungry wild critter. The two remaining chickens were busily going about their business as if nothing had happened.

We checked the yard and could find no signs of a struggle just a few feathers near the garden.

That's not enough feathers for 4 chickens. I could not understand how a cat (or anything for that matter) could carry off 4 chickens and leave only a handful of feathers on the ground. Maybe one got "got" and the rest escaped to the trees. Maybe they'd come home in the evening when it was time to roost. None of these were viable options in my kids' minds.

Sarah was hysterical, Becca was reservedly gloomy, and I was bummed because we'd been feeding these chickens for nearly 5 months and now that they should start laying eggs any day, 4 are GONE.

The story does have a happy ending. About an hour later, Rebecca was on our playset and heard something in the bushes...all 4 chickens. I guess they literally "flew the coop". We had clipped their wings, but I guess it's time to do it again. Not to get cliche happy, but they probably realized that the "grass was greener of the other side of the fence" since they have totally destroyed every bit of grass they had in their yard. We let them out in pairs in a small chicken tractor, but I guess that's just not enough for them. They had tasted the good life and wanted more. I just glad for the girls that they are all accounted for. :-)