Chicken Feet

In May a week before Miriam was born, Brian frantically finished our chicken coop because we got a delivery of these adorable chicks. 

We orderd 25, but I guess they sent 26 because as of a couple of days ago 2 had died and we had 24 chicks.  Well in the last 5 weeks the chicks have gotten a lot bigger and Brian made a portable outdoor run for them, but they were still starting to fight a little bit.  So we let them out into the big wide world.  We expected a few casualities but I wasn't expecting to loose 7 in one day.

The first four died even before they were let free.  The chicks sleep in a pile, and that night they decided to sleep in the corner where there was the water.  So the 4 chicks on the bottom drowned in an inch of water.  Stupid birds.

Then when I let them out we lost three more because they got in the yard with our bird dog Chasse.  I never saw it happen, but looking at the dead birds they seemed fine except I think their neck was broken.  Then he would carry them around carefully in his mouth, he is a bird dog, and then bury them in the ground.  He would always bury them head down, with their feet sticking up out of the ground. 

I had told the kids that after I vacuumed inside I would come push them in the swing.  But it took me forever to get done because I kept having to go around the yard looking for chicken feet sticking out of the ground.  The kids were playing back there and I didn't want to leave the dead chickens back there very long. 

Fortunately it seems like the rest of the chickens have figured out to stay away from the dog.  Hopefully it means that future generations will learn the same thing.