So, Galileo and Caspian both went back to the farm.
Guinevere (one of the Red chickens) has laid her first egg! We are getting a steady supply of eggs from Guinevere now; the eggs are large to extra-large and are a light shade of brown. We are not sure whether Ginger has laid her first egg yet — it is hard to tell which chicken is producing the eggs each day. We get on average of 5 eggs a week, so my theory is that if both chickens were laying, we would get about ten eggs a week from both Red chickens combined.
Now, about Dolly and Richard. I have some very sad and unfortunate news. Richard passed away due to a predator attack, or so we think. One night, I went out to the coop around ten p.m. to close the coop door and give the chickens food and water, when I noticed that there were only 5 chickens roosting in the coop. I checked the pen, the rest of the coop, and under the coop for Richard. My family and I, using flashlights, searched all over my backyard, but Richard was nowhere. Poor Richard, he was gone. We think that the predator was either a neighborhood dog or bird. Our pen did not have a roof on it yet, so it would be sensible to suggest that Richard was taken by aerial forces. It was probably dark when the predator attacked him, so the bird was probably an owl. Also, there were no feathers, footprints, or blood, so the swoop must have been quick and clean. On the other hand, it could have been our neighbor’s dog because the dog attacked Ginger about two months previous (Ginger had a gash under her wing for about 2 weeks, but survived, thank God). The dog has a tendency to get loose and poop in our yard. The predator is still unknown.
After Richard’s death, Dolly was always alone — foraging alone while the other chickens stayed packed together and sleeping on her roost by herself. Poor Dolly — He is the only Silkie left now. She misses Richard and so do I. He was always the slow, gentle, docile chicken. He shall be remembered, though. Long Live Richard.
Shannie's Chicken Chat 