My Long Overdue Chicken Post

So back in the spring, I had a made a little comment to Carol of the The Polka Dot Chicken, that I would name a chicken in her honor, when I got my chickens. I would name the sweetest, most charming chicken after her. She told her son and he made some funny remark about how I should really choose the orneriest chicken. LOL.

So the chickens arrived and they were treated like royalty. Their every need was met. They were warm and dry

And hungry:

They played king of the mountain:

And went to sleep with full tummies, falling in a heap:

It did this newly empty nester's  heart good to hear the pitter patter of little feet again...even if it was only chicken feet. :)

And I observed in order to determine just who would be crowned Queen Carol. It really became quite obvious early on. There was one little darling chicken and she had this little X right on the top of her head. Try as I might, I could not get a really good picture, but I KNEW that SHE had to be Carol because Carol is a master cross-stitch queen! (Really! Go over and just look at the beauties she stitched up!) It was destined to be!

Here's she's  a bit disgruntled at those big, rough hands who are cradling her so gently:

So Carol and the other chicks grew and finally left the brooder for the big world of the Coop.

They huddled in the blue container, unsure of their new surroundings. but it wasn't long before they began exploring. Each morning I eagerly headed to the Coop to open the door and each night I shut them in. All was well in chicken land.

Warning...stop at that last sentence if you do not want to hear a sad tale. This is really the reason I haven't posted about my chickens yet. One sad morning, I went out and found 2 chickens missing and 13 lying dead. I was devastated. Yes, they are just chickens, but I was quite attached to them. I had a dining room filled with cowboys and I came in close to tears. Had those cowboys not been there, I would have been bawling. DH later assessed the situation and found a 2" place under the door going into the chicken yard where something had dragged chickens out. I brought the last 5 remaining chickens into the house and he set a trap. The next morning he had a very fat skunk in said trap.

I hauled 2 truck loads of big rock (who needs to go to the gym) in from down the road and reinforced the Coop.

The good news is that my 5 chickens are fat and sassy and Carol was spared! So maybe her son is right. Maybe underneath all of that sweet, charm there is a bit of orneriness and that is what saved her! Expecting the first egg any day now!