I lost a chicken

[Mortos]

Tonight, when I went to secure my chicken coop, I found that my daughter had closed the door earlier and the chickens could not get back in at dusk when they roost (I have free range chickens that get to stroll about the property during the day eating bugs and having chicken fun). I secure them every night so predators cannot eat them (I love my chickens). Well I found four in the trees, and two on the roof. I am still missing one. I walked around the woods with a flashlight for an hour and I can't find her. I know she is just a chicken but I really like these chickens, they are one of the coolest pets/livestock I have ever owned. They have me questioning my carnivorous lifestyle. I was mad at my daughter for closing the door but angrier at myself for not checking on them earlier. Every put out good thoughts for Dark Black (as my daughter calls her) and hope that she will be okay through the night.

By the way, I read an earlier post in which someone found a chicken, that one is not mine. Mine is black and white and answers to "chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken".

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Well, I'll keep an eye out and see if any more wind up by the mailbox

but I don't know that your chicks are gonna want to come all the way to Maine.

Hope you find Dark Black!

[Mikimouse]

2. Watch out for an old white man in a white linen suit with..

a black string tie in your neighborhood. He has been linked to an organization that kidnaps chickens and commits atrocities on them!:evilgrin:

[The Shadow]

3. Amber Alert?

Sorry, I couldn't resist, I read and enjoyed your story.
I will keep an eye out for her, although I fear that a free ranging chicken wouldn't run away to Maine. We have issued an all points bulletin nonetheless.:)

[Snoggera]

4. My first reaction was to laugh

but I know how it is growing up in a farm/raising chickens and other beasts. I wish you luck. I still have the urge to laugh. Why is that?

[Nevernose]

5. You can claim him at the following address: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Al property not claimed by that time will be forwarded to our storage facility in Crawford, Texas.

[aquart]

6. You are the first person I have ever known

Who worked with chickens and still respected them.

If they're free range, the intention is to kill and eat them, isn't it?

[Mortos]

7. absolutely not

I used the term "free range" because I didn't know how else to describe it. I bought them at Easter and built them and 8x10 coop. After a few months they were almost fully grown and looked cramped in their coop so I asked my wife if it would be worth it to let them roam around our property (2 1/2 acres) if we risked losing one to dogs or other critters. We decided if we were chickens we would rather live free with the risk of death than be completely safe in a small secure coop with no excitement, adventure or beauty (hmmmmm, wait a minute, is there any subtle analogy we could make about the societal climate in America today?).

They have been free to roam around the property for about a month now. My neighbor loves them and feeds them daily. My dog grudgingly leaves them alone, and we get to enjoy their antics as they stroll around in all of their chicken glory. This is the first test of our chicken doctrine.

Here is a picture of the missing chicken.

[Lorien]

9. Pretty bird

some friends of mine have two pet bantams (named "Sam" and "Nilla"). Sam is wild about me, a follows me everywhere when I come to visit. He even chases my car when I leave! I always feel horrible when my friends serve us chicken for dinner; Sam HAS to sit on my lap while I eat, otherwise he beats himself against the front door all evening. :-(

I really hope you find your pet soon! :loveya:

[Vanje]

8. Count me a chickn lover too

I run my fowls in portable coops which I move weekly throughout my garden. The birds do all my weeding, fertilizing, and pest control. The fresh eggs are a bonus.

No extra birds this week, although 2 years ago a handsome Wyandotte Rooster suddenly showed up. He's still here......enjoying my hens.

[Mortos]

12. I looked into

building a tractor (portable chicken coop) but couldn't find any easy plans and the ones that are sold are incredibly expensive. Did you build yours?

[Vanje]

19. I built my own

I looked at a few "chicken-tractors" and then built my own A-frame style coops, using no particular plan. They are super simple. I built them long and narrow so they fit neatly between rows in my big garden. They are light weight. A tarp over half of the coop shelters the birds. Plastic food and water containers and nest box are suspended. Skids on the bottom are old skis. The thing pulls along by a rope like a kids sled.
I wish I had pics to share.

Drawbacks: These are not winter coops in my climate. Not enough protection from cold. For winter my birds go into a conventional poultry house at night, and free-roam by day.
Also I fear my portable coops are light and flimsy enough that my birds may be vulnerable to clever or large strong predators. I havent had predator trouble yet, but if I did, I would put my birds into their winter shelter while the problem gets , ahem, ...taken care of.

I built my mom a mini coop where she keeps 3 hens in a residential yard in Portland, OR. These dispose of kitchen waste , weed, fertilize and rid garden of pests and provide tasty fresh eggs. They also delight and amuse!

I dont know why EVERY family dosnt keep a few hens.

[ecoalex]

10. Respect for chickens

Most all raisers of poultry respect them. The farm is such a foreign place for city people and visa versa.The city sems inhuman to me. I treat my animals better than people are treated by each other in the city. The Plains Native Americans , as we all know have such a deep respect for the buffalo , it was their religion , yet they killed and gave thanks with deep respect for their life , so that it would sustain them.I have raised livestock , and butchered them, and do so with great respect, as most rural, or farm people do, who take the reponsibility of life and death, and utilisation of their own livestock. To purchase a product distances the buyer from culpability, and connection, , for the animals that produced the product.

[Mortos]

11. I agree

if I wasn't such a hypocrite, I would rather butcher my own food. The shit you buy from Wal*Mart is filled with chemicals and "solutions" and those chickens are raised in commercial breeding facilities. They never get to chase a bug or walk through grass or scratch through piles of leaves. The farmers I have known respect their animals and treat them well. There is a site I went to that teaches you how to butcher chickens and it is very respectful about the process. I may become a vegetarian because I am too big a pussy to kill anything.

My 90 year old Grandma told me a story of her dad. He was a farmer who raised livestock and named his animals. When it came time for butchering, he would sell or trade all of his animals for ones he didn't raise and butcher them, he just couldn't bring himself to kill the animals he had developed a relationship with. I guess being a softy is in my genes.

[Vanje]

20. I raise, sell, and butcher natural grass fed sheep

They may not live long but they live well, eat well, frolic in wide open spaces with their family and friends, then, when the time comes, die quickly and calmly in familiar surroundings (If sheep could talk, they would tell you that familiar surroundings and social attatchments are very important to their emotional well-being).

Happy animals taste better!

[ecoalex]

26. Nut'n like being there in a split second down dead at home

My processor kills at the farm. He's a dead shot,every time so far ( many ) he has folded up cattle like in the safari movies. When in a group of cattle, they just figger that one decided to lay down.They do notice , and slowly walk away, then Lyle goes to work. He's killed thousands, and each time, he says a prayer for them.Grass fed beef, pastured pork ,chicken is the way for future farmers, oh lamb too. The next best is a ground afalfa base feed, with eco or organic ingrediants.

[Mara Steele]

23. Welcome to DU, ecoalex

Thank you for your comments, I do agree with you.

[Pithlet]

13. I hope Dark Black shows up, soon.

Please let us know. :hug:

[Mortos]

14. I will announce Dark Black's

outcome tomorrow morning. Thanks for your concern.

[achtung_circus]

15. Well here's a chicken story that's appropriate.

I like chicken and I like chickens.
I have had a wide variety of birds over the years and named many of them. Dennis stands out. He was a rooster with attitude. I have always let the birds run during the day and locked them up at night. I've lost a few chicks to my Border Collie Scout who, in excess of zeal. tried too hard to herd them.

Dennis was a black and white Barred Rock. I came home from work late one afternoon, and drove down the long driveway. Halfway down was a pile of Dennis-coloured feathers, a lot of them. I was sure that a coyote had come by, avoided my Doberman, who had a violent antipathy to coyotes, gone looking for a meal of chicken and Dennis had fallen. Fallen in the line of duty, so to speak. He was extremely jealous of his women, and kept a very close eye on them.

We mourned for a couple of days. About 3 days later, I was walking up the driveway, going to work on fences, if I recall. Out of the bush came Dennis. I've never seen a rooster strut quite so .. cockish is the only way to describe it. I could almost hear him say "so some coyote thinks he can interfere with MY women, HA".

Don't give up. Keep looking Dennis must have been 1/2 cat cause he sure seemed to have 9 lives.

[Mortos]

16. Dark Blacks has been found

She is safe and back in the coop with her sisters. My wife found her after she came home from work. She was outside our bedroom on the windowsill. Thanks for your support.

[achtung_circus]

17. Ya see

chickens are special

[Pithlet]

18. Yay

She probably had quite the adventure outside of her coop last night.

[Vanje]

21. Very good nt

nt

[fortyfeetunder]

24. Glad the lost lady has been found

Dark Black knew there was no place like home!!

[zuzu98]

22. Maybe it was a Blue Moon thing

one of our chickens also went missing last night. No sign of her yet...

[Mortos]

25. I hope you find her.

Check the window sills...