6 Casualties, 1 MIA

What you are looking at is a pile of Plymouth Rock laying hen feathers in the grass.  We came home from church today to find a few hens out and one very nervous goat.  I thought it seemed strange that the hens were out.  We initially counted four out, but as Riley and I were walking out to catch them I counted not four, but ten chickens out running around.  As we approached the pasture pen that was on the far north property line on our farm, I could see that the chicken wire was not fastened at the top of the pen on one side.  Upon further investigation I could see that the wire wasn't just loose a little, but had been completely ripped away from the frame of the pen on the top on two whole sides.  I also, saw piles and piles of feathers.  As I looked around the area I soon realized the gravity of the situation.  I saw one dead hen laying in the bean field to my left and two severely injured, but not yet dead hens laying straight out in front of me.  As I was taking in a good long look at the crime scene the perpetrator returned to the scene.  Out of the beans came a young, clearly starving, Siberian Husky.  I tried to scare her of by yelling and kicking in her general direction, but after initially tucking tail and cowering she would come running right back.  Long story short we called the county dog warden to come pick her up.  She was a very friendly and beautiful dog, but she made a mess of my chickens.  If you are looking for a dog you might call the Huron County Dog Warden to inquire about her.  She will go up for adoption in three days if no owners come forward to claim her.  By the way we found three other victims and realized that we were still one bird short that we never could find.  Those dead  birds went out to the compost pile out behind the barn where I compost the offal from our broiler processing days.  As sad as it is that those birds had to meet such a tragic death at the teeth of the intruder, I find much comfort in knowing that those seven birds lived everyday of their life getting to be chickens and live like chickens and that in their death they will ultimately add to the fertility of this farm.