Chicken Math...But Not The Fun Kind

It's been a rough couple of days on the farm.  While the temps were brutally cold and the ground was snow covered I started leaving the walk through door open on the chicken coop during the day so the chickens could hang out in the hay shed next to their coop and not just be stuck in the coop all day.

As the days started getting longer (because this has stretched on for weeks) they weren't always ready to go back in at the normal feeding time, but I didn't worry.  I just left the door open for them and closed it when I came back up for the night check.  

Sunday night, before I came back up, a team of possums walked right in and ransacked the coop.  Tim heard the ruckus when he opened the kitchen door to see if Possum (the cat) was ready to come in and we rushed up to save what we could.  If he hadn't opened the door, we'd have lost every one I'm sure.

Clarice and Goldilocks are dead, The Bald Eagle and Air Fryer are missing chunks of feathers and everyone is terribly traumatized.  Air Fryer hid outside Sunday night and I found her Monday morning, cold and shaken, but still alive.  Pecky Becky made it to the house somehow and I found her under the porch in the afternoon.  Smart, brave birds...and lucky.

I kept them locked in all day on Monday and did what I could to assess injuries and provide supportive care.  As night fell they were all panicked trying to figure out where to safely sleep.  Air Fryer tried repeatedly to crawl under the wing one of the other hens.  As they all grew up in a hatchery and not with a mother hen I thought this instinct was interesting...and sad that she was so scared.

On Tuesday I opened just the chicken door so they could venture out to the front field and horse stalls during the day if they wanted.  No one wanted to and I didn't blame them.  They were really rattled.  I kept checking in to make sure nothing was bothering them and to let whoever might want to bother them know I was around and finally, by late afternoon, they tentatively stepped out.  

I stayed out with them and then herded them back in before evening chores.  This morning they are still hiding in the coop, but I'm hoping they'll start to feel more comfortable soon.  I feel awful that I let this happen to them.

My gang of remaining tough girls last night.  Clarice was always the bravest of all and I wonder if she got caught because she was trying to defend the rest.  Goldilocks is an extra sad loss because she was one of the "sister chickens" and I know The Bald Eagle is missing her.  Don't ever think chickens don't have feelings and aren't family.

We were able to trap and relocate two possums Sunday night.  Another was dispatched the next afternoon and I trapped another one just before the night check last night.  I set the game camera back up and did not have another sighting the rest of the night.  I'll keep the trap and camera up for a few more nights just to make sure.

I like this picture of me and Bea heading over to pull the memory card out of the trail camera this morning.  Bea is always by my side.  And if she wants to catch a possum from now on, I might not try to stop her.