I have had an emotional roller coaster morning with my fuzzy butts today!
Backing up...last night, we had pretty severe thunderstorms roll through and lightning strikes all around. Since my chicks are brooding in a couple of wire crates, I was having nightmares of them being electrocuted by the brooder heat source. So around 10pm, I went out and unplugged it. It had been 90*F all day, and was over 80*f in the garage, so I figured they would be fine. I gave a cursory look at them snuggled in but didn't count...They all seemed fine.
WELL, this morning, I went out to change their food and water, and one of the Speckled Sussex was just completely gone. Like vanished into thin air gone. There was no blood, no feathers, no sign of struggle. The others didn't look agitated or scared. Now, she was very tiny, and I had seen her slip through the openings in between the crates (they're back to back with a pop door open between), so I had gone around the day before to reinforce the outside so no one slipped out. But I found that I had missed a corner in the back, and with sadness, I could only conclude that she had gotten out at some point during the night. The brooder is set up in the loft, and close to the edge, so I searched for a good half hour all around the loft and all around the first floor underneath, but no trace. I was really bummed and feeling like a terrible chicken mom.
I ran into town for coffee, and told a friend about what happened. She cheerfully said, "you never know, she still might turn up," which was sweet, but seemed a little unrealistic. Since I really wanted Speckled Sussex this year, on my way home, I decided to run back to the feed store to see if they had any left. They did, but wouldn't sell me just 1, I had to take 2. I didn't really
need two more chicks, but I took them anyway
So I got home and was putting the 2 new babies in with the others, which went perfectly fine. But then....drumroll please...I glanced over my shoulder, and what did I see staring back at me from across the garage on the first floor but...
MY LITTLE ESCAPEE- AND SHE WAS ALIVE!!!!She looked so impossibly tiny and vulnerable standing there all alone, but I ran down to scoop her up, and she seemed just fine. I have no idea how she survived the fall and 10-12 hours overnight alone with no food, water, or heat. But she did!
She happily rejoined the others like nothing had happened, so we'll see if she ends up being ok. I didn't see any signs of trauma or distress, but I guess I'll just give it some time.
So now, I fear I am a victim of chicken math! To recap, I was aiming for 6 chicks this year to add to my 3 big girls.
-My first order last week was 4: 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes and 2 Dominiques. One Dominique succumbed to pasty butt/something intestinal, so I was down to 3.
-My second order this week was technically just 2 Speckled Sussex. But they also gave me an Americauna to replace the Dominique. So at the end of yesterday, I had 6 babies.
-This morning I woke up to 5.
-So went to the store and got two more, up to 7.
-Then found the escapee, so currently at 8 babies, 4 of whom are Speckled Sussex.
When I recounted all this to my husband, his question: "Can you return chickens?" I told him that we had just experienced a chicken miracle, and everyone was staying put. :wink:
Here's a picture of part of the crew:
L to R: Americauna, Dominique, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Speckled Sussex, Silver Laced Wyandotte (that's a clump of dirt on the ground in front of them, not a crushed chick!)