I was about to throw in the chicken raising towel yesterday! Sakes alive… the chicken debacle of 2012 was not bad enough, we decided in April we would try this whole chicken thing out again. Then in May we went away for the day and came back to one missing chicken. You would think that would have scared me off… oh no! Gluten for punishment or just plain dumb, I am not sure.
So, the story begins yesterday… we worked out in the back yard in the morning while Penny, Bernie and Leslie (our little ladies) pecked and played around. Around noon daddy said he wanted to go out to grab dinner for Father’s day. I went inside to shower real quick and rinse off the boys then we headed off. As we were driving to lunch I asked the hubby if he put the girls away he said, “No, they should be fine, it is the middle of the day and we won’t be gone long.” While we were eating lunch a storm started brewing and I knew that if the girls were still out they would run to their house for shelter in the rain.
We got home from lunch and I headed to the backyard to check on the girls. They were missing! I could hear one crying but couldn’t find any of them. I walked to the side of our deck to find a few piles of what was once Leslie. The circle of life was alive and well in our backyard. After a short while Bernie came out from under the deck. She was calling for Leslie and Penny and neither were answering her calls. Leslie, I was certain by the amount of feather piles I had found was food for some animal however there were no white feathers to be found. Bernie was a worried mess. After about an hour of searching the hubby and I realized that we only had one chickie chick left.
These little girls are very social and one would not survive by herself. Hubby ran inside the house and quickly found a breeder in a nearby town and I made a quick call. The breeder had Rhode Island Red chicks about the same age as Bernie. After the boys woke from nap we headed to get some friends to Bernie. Two new friends were purchased and carted back to the very lonely Bernie. We were unsure how Bernie would take to her new roommates however we were hopeful.
This morning I woke for my gym time and headed in for my workout. As I was pulling into the driveway from the gym something caught my eye… Can it be? Penny! Penny had survived and she was wandering our street trying to find her way home. I ran into the house and hollered from hubby, he and I ran the street herding little Penny home. Once Penny was back in the coop with Bernie the two were as happy as could be.
So… now we have four chickens. Two Amber Whites and two Rhode Island Reds.
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