Culling the Flock

Keeping Chickens has been an interesting adventure.  I can't really label it as anything but an adventure.  Some weeks were successes.  One year was pretty good.  And other days, weeks, and years have flat out sucked.

The first attempt, was while I was pregnant, and very absent minded.  The coop wasn't complete, and I was exhausted... and somehow a door was left open, and some random wild creature helped themselves to a fresh chicken dinner.  You live and you learn.  And you cry many pregnancy induced tears... then years later you laugh at the whole thing.

Then we bought four more chicks... and they were a success... I think.  Although they laid much later than we expected, and didn't give us nearly enough eggs (despite the fact that my husband distrusts fresh farm laid eggs)... they lived, and became a quite interesting addition to our "homestead".

So we, the following year bought 5 more, to hopefully meet our egg needs.  Out of that five, three lived.  That spring we had eggs coming out of every nook, and began to donate tons of them to others who were on down times.  Then others started to pay money for the upkeep of the chickens... and well, it was win-win for everyone... and we bought more chicks.

Then everything changed.

Apparently we moved up on the list of "Must Eat At" for wild critters.  And our numbers plummeted despite our best efforts.  One day we'd loose one, the next week we'd loose two.  Then we were down to five.  Four of which were old, and not laying more than one egg a week.

Then we lost another.

So last night I was out with the dogs, well after everything had been locked up for the night.  The chickens were making noises like they were laying an egg... both of which never happen at night.  I shoved the dogs back in the house and grabbed a dying flashlight, running in the foot of snow to the coop...

Without gruesome details, two shotgun shots later and we had a dead possum, and another dead chicken.

And then there were three.

At this point, after nature's very own vicious culling of my flock, I'm lost at what I want to do next.  My husband and our son want to start over, with a new flock this spring.  I want to sell every animal we own, so I can go a year without animal deaths (or taking care of animals during the winter)... but I do miss my eggs.  And I miss being able to bake up a storm without worrying about picking up more eggs.  If budget were open for anything, I'd build a brand new, super reinforced coop, with huge, fenced in, runs.  (Yes multiple runs)  And I refuse to buy anymore chicks until our old coop is 100% rehabbed and fenced in.  No more free rangers here (We even lost a chicken while we were outside with it!  Here one second, gone the next).  But as life would have it, chicks are sold before the weather is nice enough to work on said coop.  It's a loose loose situation.

So here's hoping the last three make it to the spring, and that something opens up to allow us to start over again, with a coop more secure than a maximum security prison.  Or that something takes out all the chicken eating critters in a 20 mile radius of our land...  ;)