July 4, 2023 was not the best day on our urban farmstead. On Tuesday mid-morning, a predator entered the chicken coop and killed two of our birds.
We’ve actually been quite fortunate in our 10+ year run of caring for hens. Years ago, a neighbor dog incursion resulted in two chicken deaths. Recently a hawk was dangerously close to a cornered bird when Chris intervened. All other deaths have been natural or due to illness and heat stress.
We owe our success to fortifying the coop and run. The fully enclosed coop sits on patio stone to prevent predators from digging under the structure. At night, the coop doors are closed. For coop ventilation, Chris used sturdy hardware cloth with 1/4” openings to screen in all sides of the structure. During the day, the girls spend their time in the fenced-in chicken run, which is covered by mesh to prevent hawks from landing easily.
None of these preventive measures were a match for a daytime critter crawling over a fence. Most unfortunately, Chris and I were not in the vicinity at that moment. We’re looking into ways to guard against daytime wanderers.
Red laid big brown eggs until the 2021 Texas Snowpocalypse, when she went on permanent strike. She also transformed her looks by growing beautiful green tail feathers.
Gold laid pretty green blue eggs. She was a big bird, but her bent toes put her at a disadvantage with the rest of the flock, so she remained at the bottom of the pecking order.
Gold was an Ameraucana, as is Whitey pictured here. This chicken breed is distinguished by its pea comb and green/blue legs and feet that match the egg color. Whitey is still alive.
We will miss these two sweet birds.
Aside: In our early days of caring for hens, we carefully selected their names: Ruby, Lois, Muriel, Georgie, Myrtle, etc. We now emphasize expediency and focus on colors as names.
Condolences on your loss of Red and Gold...
Poor Red & Gold! I’m so sorry. The injustice of a predatory world is so hard.