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Friday, September 10, 2010

A Sad Day at Tiny Green Cottage

Today's blog post doesn't bring any new photographs or good news to share; though I felt it necessary to update regardless.

Yesterday afternoon, we discovered that two of our hens were the victims of a raccoon attack. I suppose these things are common.... particularly in urban areas, though after three years of rearing hens I somehow assumed we would never have such a sad thing happen to us.

Drucilla and Penelope in happier days!

Drucilla, the Ameracauna and Penelope, the Barred Rock were killed in our back yard while both my husband and I were away at work. Drucilla was dragged away, and Penelope was left dead in the side yard.

Despite fences and other precautionary measures, the raccoon still managed to find his way into the pen and kill two hens while wounding the comb and eye of Rosemary, our Silver-Laced Wyandotte. She appears to be fine, though her eye looks like it hurts. I am hoping she doesn't lose her vision.

Thanks to a trusted neighbour, my husband was able to come home in time to secure the pen and save the rest of the flock. Thank goodness for good neighbors and loud hens!




This week's project will involve a re-vamping of the chicken run area, and a thorough securing of the side fences. We are assumming that the raccoon got in because of regular wear and tear to this access point which is pictured above. Let this sad day be a reminder for all of you out there to critter-proof your chicken runs before cold autumn weather brings forth more roaming wildlife!

9 comments:

Carolyn ♥ said...

So sorry for your loss... hope all will be well soon!

Jacqueline D'Elia said...

I just found your blog on blotanical and it is very sad that this is the first post I've read. But now that I am here… I will browse around. I love to read about veggies.

Rainy Day Gardener said...

Really sad to hear this news! Hoping for a good recovery for Rosemary.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Sorry to hear about your poor chickens. I've noticed raccoons being out during the daylight hours a bit more this summer. We have a rabbit in a hutch outside and I'm always worried about him and raccoons.
It's good to know your neighbors cared and your husband could get home quickly.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry for the chickens. I like chickens and they are so defenseless with raccoon, coyotes and hawks. They are good for the garden too besides the eggs. I do not eat eggs, but would love to have them eating my slugs.

Connie said...

So sorry about your chickens. We had a neighbor's dog kill about half our flock one year.....so sad!

Kimberly said...

I'm very sorry to hear this sad news. My chickens succumbed to a ravenous fox many years ago. My husband set out with the dog and gun to handle the situation, and returned with his tail between his legs. He found the fox, but couldn't shoot it as SHE had pups running about the den. Yes, nature is often cruel in our eyes, but on the flip side, the fox (racoon in your case) had a family to feed as well. I'm glad your hubby was able to save the rest of the girls!

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

I am so sorry to read about Drucilla and Penelope. Thank goodness for good neighbors though. Here it is a full-time challenge to keep our hens safe, as we have many predators, including raccoons, coyotes, and bobcats. Raccoons are particularly problematic to poultry. They're dexterous, and very persistent. Whenever we build coops here, raccoon-proofing has to be a top priority, over aesthetics, because they're so clever at breaking in, and defeating latches. I hope that Rosemary recovers quickly, and that there's no permanent damage to her eye.

John Going Gently said...

justfound your blog.... I lost my favourite buff 2 days ago to a fox.... so I know what u are feeling....
you have a nice blog here
greetings from wales in the UK

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