Did the little chick make it to night time? This probably explains the egg with the hole in the shell from my bluebird nest.
I could not find the hen last nite. I think I know where she will be tonite. I was worried she stayed outside because everyone was mean to her. She had been is seclusion for so long, I think they forgot who she was. Staying outside over nite makes her racoon bait. Although she is still in danger on the ground with the chicks. I'll let you know.
OK, I just got home. If it wasn't worrisome tonite would have been funny. The sheep were up crying when I got to the barn. It is 4th of July and there are a lot of noisy fireworks going off around the farm. The run-in area is in front of two stalls. One is for sheep and one is kept closed. I opened the reserved stall and found that is where mama hen is. She is sitting on the other three chicks AND another clutch of eggs, not hers. Well the sheep were freaking out and trying to push in so I would save them from the noisy monsters. I am trying to keep it dark by only using a pen light. I tried to introduce my baby, inconspicuously The sheep break in, the hen spins around, all the babies are out from under hen and she starts attacking everybody. The only thing I could do to calm things down was to retreat, directing the sheep to leave. Not an easy feat in the dark. I closed up the barn and drove down the driveway but came back just to be sure I shut every thing up right in the maylay. No frantic peeps, no mama growling....a good sign. will have to go back early tomorrow to see if everyone lived. I had gotten the lost baby to eat, drink and poop before bringing her over. Should fit right in.
What a night you all must have had. Everything happens at once, doesn't it? I sure hope the little chick, and all your other critters, are doing well in the morning, Mary.
Rejoice with me! Everyone present and accounted for and upright! I actually prayed for my little baby, apologizing for not praying for the little humans first. Baby seemed so small and alone as I left and she could have died from being cold, or even a grumpy mother who did not recognize her own. But I guess when mom regathered the babies after they scattered, with sheep interference, she must have just scooped them all under her wings. Good thing chickens are not good with math. God really is good!
I was thinking Riley, after my interesting tenant. But I don't generally name my chickens unless I am moved.
Molly passed away 5-7-2024, she really held on long as she could, didn't want to go. She always loved to go places with us, lots of great memories with her. Will be missed, and I buried her by her sister Becky.
Molly loved to travel and always let us know if a McDonalds was close, she loved the kids menu burgers. She'd stick her nose up in the wind and lick. She was a brave dog like her teacher Alice.
I am sorry to hear that you lost Molly, and I remember that she was struggling pretty hard even before the total heat of summer hit you guys. It is always heartbreaking when we lose our beloved pets that we have loved so much and cared for for such a long time. My Marco Poodle is starting to feel his age, too. He still jumps around and acts like he thinks he is a puppy, but hard food is getting more difficult for him to chew, so I give him canned food every day now to make sure he is getting enough to eat. We started feeding the stray cats around here last winter, so we always have dry cat food out on the front porch for them to eat, and Poodle can nibble those small kibbles easier than even the smallest dry dog food I can find. I am SO happy to see you and Marie back on the forum ! As you probably read, we are in the process of trying to get the servers updated to new ones, so sometimes the forum is being erratic and says it is out of resources, or just comes up weird. When we upgrade, we will probably be offline for a while as they migrate us to another server, but you can check the facebook page for information when that happens.
Mary we have to keep one of ours 'Lucile' in separate pen. She broke something in her hip a few years ago which makes them even worse about attacking. The others all free range till nightfall but Lucile can't be with them. Sometimes we keep her with us and hold her.