Smorgasbord

And then there were nine. TWO chickens got abducted and eaten last week. Of course both of them were active layers and not the two gimpy chickens that don't lay yet I continue to feed. I'm so disgusted. We got home after gymnastics last Tuesday night and I went down to feed the duck. I say DUCK as in singular because one of them vanished a few weeks ago so we only have one now. As I was walking to the pond I stomped across a pile of black and white feathers and then followed a trail of stragglers to the edge of the woods. Definately the Wyandotte.

I had decided to keep them cooped up the next day to discourage a binge but Bryon talked me out of it and I left them out again. Wednesday there was ANOTHER pile of feathers right outside the coop. Apparently the culprit had a taste for Wyandotte because the other one had vanished into a pile of black and white feathers as well.

My friends, it's dangerous in the country.

So NOW, I have 4 or 5 eggs a day which don't add up nearly as quickly as 8 or 9 a day. I'm pretty sure the two gimpy birds will never lay. I have started mixing up the cracked meal like corn we feed the pigs with water for the crossed beaked chicken. I think she can get more into her beak that way. She ate for 20 minutes this weekend one night while I shooed the other hens away from her. She finally walked away (and probably took a nap!) with what I can only assume was a full belly or gullet or whatever chickens have.

Grace hasn't been too concerned about the diminishing flock.

One of the Buff Orpingtons has gotten all broody and tries to hatch the eggs every day. She sits in there constantly on the eggs and gets all upset when I scoop then out from under her. I'm thinking maybe I should just get a rooster and let them hatch out to replenish the flock and maybe the rooster would be able to protect them a little more too during the day. Of course winter is probably not the best time to hatch that plan (pun intended). Maybe I'll just make it through to spring and THEN get a rooster. I really wanted to wait until I could have a pure flock since I have 5 different breeds of birds now instead of six, at this rate that won't be long anyway.

Oh the perils of farm life...