An Addendum

After Karlie and Adam ventured to the barnyard this morning to feed the two remaining chickens and discovered a red hen in the horses' trough, I realized I had erred on the tally sheet and given the coyotes credit for a few too many kills. Please see the revised score board below:

Coyotes: 57
Smiling Dog: 3
Horse Trough: 3
Walkers: 2 (still alive)

Most of the post holes have been dug and posts are in for the new and improved, more secure chicken yard. I guess the two remaining hens will go in the freezer (they're the non-producing girls we spoke of previously) and we'll start again in the spring.

So sad to have our chicken joy thwarted. While the newcomers hadn't grown on me yet, our "veteran" chickens - the ones who lived to a ripe ol' age of almost one - sure had.

Deep sigh.

Love from the farm,
Teri

(P.S. Then again, we might just find ourselves warming baby chicks by the fireplace this winter. I'm not sure I can go a whole winter without chickens, or wait 10 months for farm fresh eggs. Without the chickens, and after the turkeys do their holiday duty, we'll be down to one goat and one duck, 2 dogs, 5 cats and 2 horses in yonder fields. Not quite farm status. Hmmmm....I think it's likely we'll be ordering some peeps in the near future.We'll keep you posted on any new deliveries.)