"It's almost time to let the laying hens out on pasture, the grass is greening up and they have started to lay small pullet eggs - about 2 dozen each day. I've been checking the prices at specialty markets in Burlington all winter and free-range local eggs were very near or just over $5 a dozen, so the chickens will be paying for themselves this year with a profit besides, at least that's the plan. Isn't that always my plan?
To my surprise, there were a lot of roosters in my flock. I purchased the "brown egg layer" assortment (100 birds of multiple breeds) from McMurray Hatchery as day-old chicks last November. Fast forward to April, and there was so much doodle-dooin' going on that my husband Dan decided to nix my idea of making some money back by raising the roosters for sale as meat birds, and terminated them - saying something about the ruckus being 'on his nerves'.
At least the hatchery refunded me $11 for the oversight, I guess someone was sorting too fast or tipping them in the wrong box at the chick-sexing station that day."
I wrote the previous portion of this column two weeks ago. Since then, two hens have fallen prey to a fisher cat/polecat/marten or pekan (Abenaki). Whatever you call it, I saw the fuzzy chicken-eating varmint crossing the road in front of their pasture in broad daylight after an attack.
Two more hens died from suffocation while confined to their coop at night, even with four times the room they need and open upper windows - this step to prevent additional losses has ironically proved as deadly as predation.
Egg production has dropped like a rock. I gathered only six yesterday. Between the ravens flying away with eggs laid in the grass and the fisher cat it's been a real pill to have birds outdoors this year.
I've tried to be a good steward and defend my flock. Catch-em-alive traps baited with canned cat food have caught: calico cats. I started keeping a loaded pistol handy but the ravens seem to sense that I'm packing, and have stopped circling the pen, at least when I am watching.
The situation as it stands: two species of predators have outsmarted me, and my chickens are too traumatized to lay any eggs. How much worse will it get before I see a return on my investment?
It's amazing how much information I found on Google by typing in, "What's killing my chickens?" No comfort at all in knowing I'm not alone; for the most part pens are made for keeping birds in, not predators out. Going out to the pasture at dusk every night to push groggy chickens up the ramp and into the coop puts a cramp on leaving the farm; no matter where we go now, we have to be back by dark.
In spite of the best-laid plans, I'll have little or no eggs for sale when farmers' market starts this weekend.
