A Learning Experience

Okay, after the debacle with the neighbor's dog we've made a few changes. First, we've decided that the chickens can't be let out of the chicken run without a chicken herd. We've also decided that the chicken herd should be armed against predators. We need a whole bucket of BBs for target practice, and I also decided that we'd need some method of BB retrieval. A BB in the butt should be plenty of deterrent.

The dog incident happened Friday, and on Saturday when we came back from running errands there was another chicken wandering around outside the chicken run. He was happy to be reunited with his brethren, and when we let the chickens out of the yard to play, they stuck to the thickly-growing blackberry brambles close to the chicken run rather than spreading themselves out over the driveway the way they had.

Sunday morning, there was another lost one crying to get back into the yard. This means that the final count is twenty in the coop, five dead and one missing. It's been a couple of days now and we don't really expect to see that one again. I'm thrilled that we got two of them back - that all by itself feels like a gift.

This morning I was getting ready to phone into a meeting and I heard a croaking call from outside. I went to look at the chickens, and Cargill was fluffed up and flapping his wings. I suspect that what I heard was Cargill's very first attempt at a full-on rooster crow. It was sort of cute.

Things have settled back down to normal here, and for that, I'm grateful.