Last night, right at dark, the kids and I heard our chickens making an awful sound. My son and youngest daughter ran out to the coop, only to come in the house with tears in their eyes. “Mom! There’s feathers all over the place!” My heart sank. I already knew nothing good was going to come of this scene I was picturing on my head. My husband went outside with them, taking along a flashlight to see with.

There was blood…..and a hole ripped in the chicken wire. Where there were once five chickens, now stood only four. They were terrified. My son cried himself to sleep, thinking it was his fault for not protecting them. We all felt violated. We feared for the day that raccoons would find our chickens. We thought we had secured their fortress. We all feel like we let them down.

This morning, after work, my son and I went to the store and bought brand new chicken wire. We went to the coop and spent time with the four chickens who are still there. One of them is constantly calling out, I’m sure for the chicken who is gone. It is so sad. We will sweep up the feathers, and secure the coop even better than before. Even though they are just chickens, they truly are our family. They rely on us for food, water, shelter, and protection. We are vowing that this will not happen again. Off to the coop.