Well folks, I’m here to announce my flock of 14 birds is officially down to eight.
I’m sad.
The casualties are:
1 yellow chicken killed by a coyote in plain sight
1 yellow chicken found lying dead in the coop in March 2012. Cause of death: unknown
The remains of one yellow chicken (mostly feathers) found in an abandoned outbuilding in April 2012, obvious murder
MIA:
2 black and white chickens
1 black chicken
I should have eleven chickens. I had eleven chickens earlier in the week. But tonight, I only counted eight. I scanned the vicinity and found none, so I waited until dusk for them to come in to the coop to roost in order to get a good count. There are only eight.
I looked everywhere for signs of foul play. Or would that be fowl play?
I got nothing. Not a feather, not a speck of blood, not a chicken track.
I’ve questioned the dogs. I’ve interrogated the horses. Played a little good cop/bad cop. They’re not talking. Not even when I offered a reward of 1 bucket of oats for any information leading to the arrest of person or persons involved in the disappearance of 3 chickens in one week.
It’s a classic whodunit. Has something bad happened to my three chickens?
Or have these hens simply crossed the road to get to the other side?
I will be interrupting your regularly scheduled program for any urgent news updates.
Stay tuned.
Angel Wheeler 
Angel, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this post! (O.K. I have to admit, I literally laughed at loud and then I hung my head in shame … and, uh…of course, in honor of your deceased and MIA chicks!!) Seriously, even though I found your “amber alert” hilariously written, I know there must be some sense of loss connected to this. You have fed and nutured these little ones for quite a while now, and I do believe there is a bond formed when we invest our feelings and our time, in caring for another living thing. With that in mind, my heart hurts for your loss and I can only hope that by some miracle, maybe your missing ones find their way home. BTW, please give Emma kate an extra “squeeze” for this ol’ fan, would ya’? Sure would love to see some new pics if you find the time. I think of you all often and know she is growing faster than one would really like! If we could just keep ’em little for a bit longer, huh? Until next time … Donna H.
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Oh Donna,
I’m terribly sad. I have to make light of it to keep from sounding like “doom, despair, and agony on me” which is really how I feel. Thanks for reading! EK pics soon! By the way, new chicks are coming this summer. I’ve just decided!
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Sounds like a “Hank the Cowdog” book!
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I might need to call Hank up for hire to help solve this mystery.
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Could the culprit be Henery the Hawk 🙂
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