Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Loss Hurts

Eventually, I saw a tiny slip of dried blood on the newspaper under the watering tray.

The entry point into the brooder was through an unsecured length of chicken netting and looking around I saw several places where the predator dug little holes in the dirt around the brooder. I suspect a mink.

After I took an inventory, I found that I lost three chicks including two black ones and another New Hampshire or Rhode Island Red.

I fed the remaining five chicks, cleaned the water tray, and secured the wire netting around the entry point. I covered another possible entry point with additional netting.

I moved the live trap from the garden to a spot under the tarp behind the brooder. I looked unsuccessfully for a rat trap that is hiding somewhere in my cluttered house.

My emotions led me to wax philosophically as I thought that everything has its natural duration. After a few years of raising chickens, I come to expect loss and short periods of time with these birds.

Irregardless.

Loss hurts.

4 comments:

Jill said...

Bummer! Although death is a nature part of life, to lose anything - whether it a person or animal is sad. They are adorable. I'm sorry you've lost some.

Tim Somero said...

Thank you for your kind words.

I called Blue Seal Needs and Feeds today to get a status on my broiler chicks and I asked if I could replace my lost chicks.

They have 50 laying chicks available so I can easily replace them when I pick up the broilers later this week.

Jill said...

Hey Tim -

How are the rest of the chicks doing? Did you modifications hold fast?

Tim Somero said...

Things look good so far and the five remaining chicks are happy and healthy.