One of my chickens, Marjoram, aka "Marge" was tragically attacked and killed by a bird of prey this past week. We came home from work and after searching for about an hour finally found her remains that were half-eaten in our yard. Poor Mr. Rue suffered some minor wounds and is missing a chunk of his tail feathers from defending the rest of the girls. I was so upset....even though you would never think one can get attached to a chicken, when they become your pets, you definitely can. I think the guilt I felt for letting them out to free-range that day was the most overwhelming part of it. I guess it's the price we pay, for they are happiest and healthiest when out free-ranging. The worst part is that I think the other three chickens have been traumatized by the experience and are still very scared. Everyone told us it was bound to happen and to expect it, but I guess I never thought it would happen to me.
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| Marge is in the foreground, eating out of my hand |
