Sunday morning I got
up and made cinnamon rolls and my oldest baked an apple pie. Apparently we were in the mood to get in the
kitchen and do some baking. It was a lot
of fun and a great way to kick off our week.
At least that was our thought, anyway.
 |
| Miss Penelope |
I'm so sad to share
this next part with you. On Monday we
discovered that a raccoon had made its way into our chicken coop during the
night and killed two of our four beloved chickens. We lost Penelope, our Americauna, and
Rosemary, our Rhode Island Red. A friend
of ours was kind enough to come over and help me clean up the coop, it was
pretty awful, and after we loved on Edith and Matilda for quite some time we
set them up with a pretty nice apartment in the garage. While we are heartbroken and very upset at
the loss of our hens we are so grateful to have our two remaining girls still
with us. It is crazy how attached you
can get to a chicken.
 |
| Rosemary |
Unfortunately one of
our neighbors insists on feeding the raccoons and buys bags of dog food for
them. We've tried to get them to stop,
but they won't. Perhaps if they'd had to
clean up the coop they might feel differently, but it's hard to say. They really think they are doing a wonderful
thing "taking care" of them. Moving
forward we will be working on building a raccoon proof hen house.
 |
| Another one of my daughter's beautiful pies |
Easy as it could
have been I wasn't about to let our little tragedy set the tone for the rest of
the week. I was pretty sad about it, and
I still am, but I made myself put a smile on my face and focused my attention
on other things and I found that it really helped me a lot to help others and
just make them smile. It ended up being
a week of service to others and I'm grateful for it. It was also another jam packed week for my
girls and staying busy was good.
I got my tax refund
deposited into my checking account on Thursday.
I'll be sharing with you what I ended up doing with it in my monthly
wrap up and I'm pretty excited about that.
Friday we attended
my oldest daughter's Honor Band concert at Boise State. Because my youngest is a student she got in
for free, but I had to pay which is fine because admission goes directly to
next year's program. The concert was
really nice.
Saturday I awoke to
a snowstorm and boy was it pretty outside.
I had to take my daughter to BSU for robotics and fortunately there was
hardly anyone on the roads. On the way
home I stopped in at Albertson's to pick up some more pot roasts that were on
sale for $1.99 a pound. I bought three
and when I got home I put one in the slow cooker and the other two in the
freezer.
How was your thrifty
week?
Raccoons are nasty with chickens. We've lost some our girls mostly to coyotes after we let them out in the morning to roam free. Our cage ( for at night is raccoon proof but it does take work. Especially, if they know they got a free meal there they will be back. We have 10 girls now and I understand the attachment.
ReplyDeleteThis was totally a sport kill. I'm just sick about it.
DeleteWe used to raise chickens on the farm. We'd get like 200 chicks at a time. With so many we never got attached to them. So, it seems strange to me to think of them as pets. We had a regular chicken house with a little drop down door. If we forgot to bring the door down at night, they were in danger of being visited by a predator such as a fox or coon. Whenever we acquired a new dog, we had to teach them to leave the chickens alone. They seem to naturally want to attack them.
ReplyDeleteWe had black labs growing up and they were our chicken herders. Very protective of the flock and they also gathered eggs.
DeleteI am sooo sorry. Your chickens have shown more interest in you than ours ever did -- but to lose that source of eggs (and friendship) is doubly sad.
ReplyDeleteWe have been lucky. The raccoons couldn't get into our garbage cans (where the feed was stored), our coop was sturdy, with a door that closed electronically. And Charley the dog told them (the raccoons, that is) regularly where to get off. As well as their buddies the coyotes, and even a black bear. It helped that our yard was fenced off, as well.
Our struggle was hawks and eagles. We lost at least two (and three, I think) over the years to them, and a couple to a fox. Those predators are sneaky.
You should get some new chicks -- your girls are getting a bit long in the tooth, anyways, for egg-laying.
I probably should get more peeps, but first I want a hen house, not just a coop, so I know they are safe.
DeleteOh no, I'm sorry to hear about your hens! Looking forward to hearing how you racoon-proof the hen house. We have a problem with racoons in North Florida as well and I try to avoid them at all costs.
ReplyDeleteI went outside one morning and there was one on our deck. He hissed at me rather than scamper off. Way too comfortable around humans I think.
DeleteOh no, I'm so sorry about Penelope and Rosemary. It must have been horrible finding them. We were at my in-laws yesterday where my father-in-law was on his roof gluing down a roof shingle that a raccoon had torn up. I LOVE animals but sometimes they can be very destructive. We live by one of the largest municipal parks in the U.S. where there are a lot of critters that wander down to our neighborhood...like the coyote I saw walking down the sidewalk a couple months ago - and actually I don't mind that as long as they don't do anything harmful, but that's the thing - you never know. I always worry for our dachshund.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you all kept busy, it would be easy to wallow in sadness after that. You did good to press on, even though it must have been tough.
Oh my goodness, that pie and rolls - look delicious!
D.
Thank you, those rolls and the pie were pretty yummy. I've lived here for 23 years and this is the first time raccoons have been a problem. There was one run over on my way to work the other day. I'm hoping it was karma!
DeleteDoes your neighbor realize raccoons are one of the leading carriers of rabies!!!!! And they can be very aggressive towards people. You might want to alert someone in your county to talk to your neighbor. They are putting you and the rest of your neighborhood at serious risk. Sorry for your chicken loss. I like your blog! Barb in Pennsylvania.
ReplyDeleteThank you Barb. They know and we've told them, but no laws against setting out bowls of dog food on your patio. They don't have a dog.
DeleteWonder if it is against the law to feed wild animals? Could you have a word with the police and explain about what happened to the chickens and what if one of your girls were outside when the racoon came around. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI was on our neighborhood watch committee and no, they aren't breaking any laws. We asked. :(
DeleteI'm so very sorry to hear about your sweet chickens. :( I can't believe your neighbor feeds the raccoons!! That's horrible. Can you call wildlife control about that? I'm glad that your week was a good one, despite the sad start. Beautiful pie and cinnamon rolls!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily. I wish we could do something, but other than trapping and relocating there aren't many options.
DeleteOh, I'm so sad to hear about your darling Rosemary and Penelope! I would be angry at my neighbors as well for deliberately feeding those raccoons. Just wait until the raccoons start to invade their house/garage--they'll be very sorry, eventually!
ReplyDeleteThe loss of pets is always so hard. Chickens are no different. You have my sincere condolences.
Thank you Sue. I'd like to trap and relocate the neighbors, but alas, I've heard they call it something like.... kidnapping. Oh well.
DeleteOh, I'm so sorry about the chickens, that's so sad. The pie and cinnamon rolls look so delicious!
ReplyDeleteTania
Thank you Tania. It is sad to be sure. The pie and rolls were really good. :)
DeleteWhat a terrible thing to happen! I am so sorry to hear about this and the frustration with neighbors. I also wondered about contacting authorities, but I see from previous comments that has not been helpful. All the best as you recover from this!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. It has been both sad and frustrating.
DeleteOh how it hurts when you lose one of your pets. I know chickens are really "livestock" but it is easy to love them just the same.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your commenters, raccoons are not something you want around and your neighbor is the problem. My friend once watched from a window as a problem raccoon unlocked a trashcan lock with his hands.
I am so sorry.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry (where raccoons are everywhere!)
They are little devils, to be sure. Thanks Jeannie.
DeleteSorry for the loss of your chickens.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. Take care, Janie
Thank you Janie. Appreciate it! :)
DeleteI'm sorry to read about your chickens! I've never owned chickens but have had other pets and they are like members of the family. It's sad when something happens to them.
ReplyDeleteWe have a neighbor that feeds the deer. They are not afraid or wary of humans anymore. We have a retaining wall in front of our house and my flowers were always protected because of it. Those days are gone though. Now they come right up to the house and gobble up everything in sight, dropping ticks everywhere. Very disheartening. Still, they are not as bad as raccoons!
I enjoy reading your posts.
I'd take the deer over the raccoons, but they are destructive as well. Just never a good idea to humanize wildlife in my opinion. We aren't doing them any favors.
DeleteI’m sorry about your sweet chickens, I agree that wildlife does not need to be fed by humans.
ReplyDeleteWe live in Oklahoma but Canadian geese live here year round. They don’t migrate and they reproduce like crazy. A bunch of them live in our neighborhood and they leave so much poop all over the sidewalks and streets. And yes, some people here feed them, Makes me want to scream,
Anyway, your cooking looks delicious, I think you do an amazing job with your small food budget.
Thank you Rhonda. It is a fun challenge to see what all I can do with a little budget. I enjoy it!
DeleteGeese are so messy. I feel for you!
I am sorry about your sweet girls. I have only had one chicken in my life. We inherited her when my Mom passed. We called her Clucky. She had a huge Chicken coop and nesting box and fortified building. She was the last left of my Moms girls. I once saw a Hawk swoop down to get her she yelled really load and it flew off without her. She could hear us wake up in the morning and would start yelling for us to open her digs so she could come out. She was so sweet. She used come and hang out. I understand about getting attached
ReplyDeletePatti from San Diego
Thank you Patti. We are so grateful we still have the other two and he didn't get them all. They are so sweet and very social, which surprises a lot of people. We just love our girls. :)
Delete