The Adventures of Chicken Farming: Coyotes

Yesterday, there came a frantic knock on the front door.  It was my neighbor alerting me to the fact that this animal had been seen in the yard:

Coyote (not a friend to chickens or cats!)

Fortune

Pumpkin

It was just a few minutes and the place was swarming with men who looked for the coyote to shoot it (including the sheriff).  We were encouraged to gather our animals and get them inside.  The cats were pretty easy to get in the house.

(Aren't they cute!?) 

The chickens were another story...we tried bribing them with food and then with treats.  I ended up feeding them a bunch of meal worms without getting one single,solitary chicken back into the coop.  Aaron chased them out of the woods and Anna and I tried to "encourage" them to go into the coop.

Part of our little flock

We spent about an hour trying to catch our six chickens to make sure they would be safe from the big, bad coyote.  We were not successful.  However, I am sure that the gang of folks who had gathered to eradicate the coyote enjoyed watching the pastor and his family chase chickens!  We never did get those chickens back in the coop, but we did get a good cardio workout and a good laugh!

The chickens finally made their way back to the coop at the normal time and not a minute earlier.  I learned a few valuable lessons today:

1.  Chickens will do what chickens want to do
2.  I am severely out of shape
3.  I loathe coyotes
4.  I need a shotgun

Chicken Farming: How it all started....

One of the items on my bucket list was to be a "backyard" chicken farmer.  I know it sounds strange to some folks, but it has been a dream of mine for a long time and Abby began to share in my dream this past year.  So....after some mighty persuasion, the rest of the family agreed to jump into the chicken farming adventure.

On a very snowy morning, March 21, Abby and I traveled to the local feed store in a crazy snowstorm to pick out our little flock.  After looking over the chicks, we chose six Buff Orpingtons and braved the slick roads to get them home.  

See the snow in the background??

They were so cute!  Abby was already late for school, so we let her stay home for a little while.  She held each little one to make sure that it was comfortable it her new home.

They were so fluffy and sweet!

Our little flock was so stinkin' cute!

The most difficult part of the first day or so was introducing the little flock to our cats!  The cats were very, very interested in the little chicks.  

Fortune couldn't figure out what was in the box.

Pumpkin and Fortune were enthralled with the chicks in the brooder.

Stay tuned for more adventures with our little flock!!