Tuesday, March 16, 2010

~ Yesterday started off well ...............................


I strolled down to the chicken coop to feed the chickens , guinea and check on the young hen. I released her from the inside pen Sunday night and let her roost with the other chickens , but the older hens kept pecking at her. She finally found a safe place in one of the nesting boxes. She was doing well yesterday morning , although she was sitting alone atop the door of the pen when I opened up the coop.


I took some veggie scraps and dumped them in the compost bin , the older hens love getting in the compost bin and scratching around. I let the chickens out to free range and walked around checking out the garlic and greens. I was amazed how the garlic and greens had grown since last week , everything looked like it had grown an inch or more.


The lettuce I planted last week has started sprouting , the spinach looks better since I thinned it out. After taking a few pics I headed back to the house to do dishes and household chores. I went back out to check on the small hen around lunch , she was fine but was alone near some old wooden doors. So I went back to the house for awhile , went back out around 2:30 and she was hanging out with the guineas at the edge of the woods.
At 5:00 I went out again and as I was walking to the coop , I saw a small hawk in a tree at the edge of the woods , he flew away upon seeing me. Unfortunately this time I couldn't find the little hen. I was looking for her when Dh got home from work , he started looking too and found her lying near some steel he has in the field , the hawk had killed her. So my day didn't end so well. Some days you wonder if it's worth the effort you put into trying to be self sufficient , it was definitely one of those days.
~ Blessings ~
JoyceAnn

12 comments:

Vickie LeBlanc said...

I'm just like you JoyceAnn, stuff like this is going to upset me so much. I know it's nature taking care of itself but still....

We've had a hawk around here for the past few years. I'll have to watch my six little chicks when they arrive in May.

Unknown said...

So sad : ( We are getting ready to get some chicks for my teen son's argri science class. I'm really looking forward to fresh eggs, but we have a lot of hawks around here too, not to mention raccoons. He will have to secure his coop well!

Marie S said...

I am so sorry about your little hen JoyceAnn. The hawks are just brutal aren't they? They are just trying to eat though. It is hard on my heart being self-sufficiant, I even hate losing my veggies to the gophers.
Do your grandkids help you in the garden?
I am hoping I will be able to do more gardening when Madi gets a little bigger.

Your garlic is huge, when did you plant it?

Thanks for coming by and wishing Madi a Happy Birthday.
Have a much better week.
Love and huge hugs.

Peggy said...

I just hate days like that and they seem to come around too often. Hope today is filled with wonderful happy blessings!

Flassie's Fil'a said...

JoyceAnn,

I am so sorry to hear about your little hen and the hawk. That poor little hen just didn't seem like she had a chance to enjoy her life, or be excepted by any of her own kind, the feathered creatures.

{{{HUGS JOYCEANN}}}

God Bless You and Yours!!!

Callie Brady said...

I'm so sorry you lost the hen to the hawk. I am so glad we have Morgan. If we didn't have her we would lose most or all of our chickens to predators. I would hate having to lock up the chickens all the time.

JoyceAnn said...

Hi Vickie ~ Yep , it's the way of nature , but it doesn't make the losses any easier. You'll have to watch that hawk like a hawk if you allow them to free range. But I'm happy to hear you're getting chickens.

Hi Char ~ It's good to hear from you. Happy to hear that you all are getting chickens too. That'll be a great learning experience for the kids.

Hi Marie ~ My Grands are a little to young to help much in the garden. We tried letting them help plant potatoes last year , but they wanted to put the potatoes back in the buckets (LOL). They like to help with the harvest though.
I planted my garlic back in the Fall , Marie. It should be ready to harvest around the end of June or the first week of July.

Hi Peggy ~ Great to hear from you , I'm sure you've lost your fair share of critters too. Thank-you for the Blessing.

Hi Flassie ~ She didn't have much of a life , but I did pick her up earlier that day to pet her. Little Missy and Little Time also gave her a few pats , so she left this world knowing it wasn't all bad. Thanks for caring and the hugs.

~ Many Blessings to Everyone ~

JoyceAnn said...

Hi Callie ~I love watching them free range too , can't image having to keep them cooped up all the time. I did learn a lesson from this , I think I should have kept her in the fenced area until she was accepted by the other hens , was able to stay with the flock and more experienced of dangers. That might have made a difference , but I'm still relatively new to raising chickens , so I'm learning the hard way.

~ Blessings ~

Leasmom said...

Sorry for your lost!

JoyceAnn said...

Thanks , Patrice.

Jeanne said...

I'm so sorry!
{Hugs}

JoyceAnn said...

Thanks , Jeanne.