What a roller coaster!
I was spending so much time with our hens and trying to make them the most comfortable through the end of this winter. I rearranged their nesting boxing and resituated the heating lamp so that their water wouldn't freeze, and their nesting box was nice and toasty. They were doing so well. My two young chickens had just started laying eggs the past couple of months. Then, I came outside and saw feathers. Feathers everywhere.
Every day, I let them out for an hour to free range. Most of the time, I'm out there with them, but occasionally, I'll go inside and turn over some laundry or whatever else needs to get done. This day was the same as always. Except something got ahold of my girls. All four of them. My middle son and I found one of my younger hens, Betty, all tucked away under some brush in the woods. I took her to the coop and locked her away to stay safe. My oldest and middle sons and I searched the rest of the woods for two hours. We found one of the hens dead and tons of feathers from the other two hens. I can only assume it was a fox or a dog. I'm not sure. When I returned to Betty, I saw that she was injured. I put Hydrogen Peroxide and Neosporin on her open wounds. She was scared. I tried to make her as comfortable as possible.
It was heartbreaking. I was so upset with myself for not being there for them. I ordered brand new baby chicks that evening along with a rooster in hopes of some protection for my hens. While I waited for my baby chicks, I kept taking care of Betty's wounds so that she wouldn't get an infection. She has now healed completely, and I'm so happy for her. I was even able to take two older hens off of the hands of a friend so Betty could have some friends before introducing the new chicks. So far, there hasn't been any problems, and I'm so grateful for that.
In the midst of all the chaos of the chickens, we adopted a rescue dog named Nellie. She is the sweetest dog. We think she is somewhere between 6 months and 1 year old. She and our Goldendoodle, Rudy, got along immediately, and the boys have had the best time playing with her outside.
As for my gardening plans, I have started my seeds under a part of my greenhouse tunnel. The other part of my greenhouse tunnel is beside the chicken coop. I am repurposing it as a chicken run for Betty and her friends while I'm close by. I have draped a bird nest on top to keep them in a confined area while I sit and watch. It's not a permanent solution, but it will work for now while I deal with the brand new baby chicks. In the garden, I have added my compost to the garden beds and planted some beets, which will be ready in time for me to plant the rest of my starter plants for this season. I hope to harvest a lot of beets and pickle them. Everyone but my oldest loves pickled beets. So, hopefully everything works as planned!
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