Anyway, as we were down in the holler enjoying the rain, little did I know that a massacre was happening up at my house. That's right, I said massacre. We came back to the house to feed the animals. We were running a little later than normal so we had to use flashlights. As Hubby was checking for eggs in the hen house he noticed that there was a dead hen laying on the floor. Then we noticed that we only had a few of our chickens on the roost. The killer strikes again......
As we were looking around the chicken house, we saw paw prints on the feed barrel. VERY LARGE paw prints. If you have ever owned a Saint Bernard, you know these paw prints. These were the markings of a St Bernard. Jack has been the one killing the chickens. I don't think I was EVER as mad as I was at that time. I wasn't just mad at Jack, I was mad at myself for not tying him up before we left. Hubby even asked me if we should tie him up. I told him no since it was so hot, Jack wouldn't leave the shade of the house. Well, just as soon as it cooled off with the rain, the chicken murder made a bee line right for the chicken coop.
All in all, we had 17 chickens missing that night, including 8 young pullets that I had just bought to replace the ones that he had killed a week before that. I was livid. We found 8 of the bodies (adult hens too) scattered around the yard. All had feathers torn out but no real damage. (well, other than they were dead.) Jack doesn't want to eat them, he just wants to chase and catch them. Right now I'm really mad at him, but I know it's something that is hard for him to control. I'm sure I'll just see to it that he can't get to them ever again and I guess this just puts the "chicken coop getting done" back up on the top of the list of things that need done ASAP. I also know that I won't be able to stay mad at him for long. I mean, who can resist that face.
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, looking for some more chickens again.
P.s. As of this morning some of the chickens have come back. So I don't think he killed all 17 of the chickens that were missing last night. Some of the pullets are even back. I'm feeling better now.
P.s.s. Coffee is still alive and still came down to sit with Jack today. I think she has a death wish. Or, they are conspiring together. Hmmmmmmmm........