cold morning

We threw handfuls of sunflower seeds around the garden for the birds this morning. It was so very cold and beautiful. We explored until we could bear it no longer.

Drama

On Friday, December 3rd at approximately 3:00 in the morning our chickens were attacked by raccoons. We heard the commotion and chased off the bandits. Two of our four chickens were found, one with large bare patches where feathers had been pulled out. We put them safely in the coop. The other two were nowhere to be found. In the morning we found Tink hiding out in the backyard. Feathers were all over the place, including up front by the street so we sadly accepted the loss of our Aracuana, Fuzzy Wuzzy. She lay less eggs than the others, but they were a gorgeous blue green color.


On Wednesday, December 8th a neighbor knocked on our day wondering if one of our chickens had escaped our yard. I walked across the street and there was Fuzzy Wuzzy, hanging out under a neighbor's evergreen tree. It was clear by the scratchings around the base of the tree that she had been hanging out in that spot for a while. After much difficulty and drama, we managed to capture her and bring her back to our yard.
Unfortunately, the other chickens had adapted to her absence and were not welcoming in any way. There have been feathers pulled and much squawking but after three days, they seem to have worked out most of their issues.
Whew!