Don't Count Your Chickens

You know the old saying "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"? Well I counted them probably more than once. Our flock of Chickens has not faired so well in the past week. We had a hen "Buckeye" sitting on a nest of eggs and we were so excited about the prospect of baby chicks. Then some friends ordered chicks of which we got five. The grand total of chicks that I wasn't supposed to count yet...21. Then the worst thing happened. We forgot to shut the door to the chicken coop. The next morning our son went to check on Buckeye and her chicks only to find they had all vanished. They were gone, she and the chicks the eggs and even the eggs I had forgotten to collect the day before, gone. Thankfully our other hens and the rooster got out alive. But wait that's not the end. We decided to clean out the chicken coop only to find a bee hive under the water tank. The littlest growing boy found it the hard way. So after much ado and several ice packs we decided to call in reinforcements...Daddy. Daddy came home from work took care of the bees and finished cleaning out the chicken coop. All was right once againg on the farm. But wait that's not the end. A few nights later the chickens decided not to go into the chicken coop to roost but instead to spend the night on top of the swing set. Bad idea to let them spend the night on the swing set cause guess who decided to come back for another chicken dinner. Yep he ate another hen. We're not really sure who he is but we are bound and determined not to let him eat the rest of our little flock which now numbers 4. I guess it's time to call up the hatchery and order more baby chicks. I don't think I'll count them at all this time.