Of Coyotes, Chickens, and Cats

It felt like forever, and I was starting to lose patience. When I got my three hens, I was told they'd start laying in August probably. I thought perhaps though that these chicks could be on the exceptional side, as is my cat, Larry, and maybe they'd start producing eggs just a little early...maybe?

I am a good chicken owner. I make sure the girls have feed and water at all times. I toss in greens for variety. Sometimes a strawberry or two from the garden as well. Every worm I capture is theirs. I let them roam free under supervision when I'm working outside. And now I was ready to be rewarded for that.

But July ended, and then it was August, and still I was eggless. I started to call them "the slacker hens." Out loud and on Facebook even.

Speaking of exceptional cats though, about two weeks ago, Tim's orange tabby companion of 12 years, Tucker, suffered a bad accident, was beyond repair, and the difficult decision to put him down was made. It was tough for Tim, and as soon as I could, I went up to visit him for the weekend. The night before I left though, I ran into a neighbor who told me a coyote had killed another neighbor's cat in the middle of the street just the night before. It was the exact same night I couldn't get Larry to come in, which happens occasionally in the summertime, and he ended up sleeping outside the entire time. You can imagine my relief that Tim and I were only mourning the death of one cat and not two.

Before I left town, I told the guy who rents a room from me to make sure Larry stayed inside all weekend and to watch out for coyotes. Then I proceeded to forget all about it. My biggest worry when I was gone was that the deer would come to dine in the garden because I'd forgotten to spread the repellent around before I left.

Sure enough, when I got back on Sunday, the deer had helped themselves to some (but not all) of the scarlet runner beans on the bean teepee I have nutured all summer. Damn deer.

Then, when my renter came home, he told me that he'd been awakened that morning by the hens making a horrible ruckus, and when he looked out the window he was pretty sure he saw a coyote snapping at the chicken wire before he ran off. The chickens were safe and so was Larry, but it's getting a little scary in this here 'hood, if you know what I mean.

The next morning, as I got ready for work, I heard some loud squawking and I ran to the back door ready for coyote kill. But everything looked normal even though the squawking continued. I looked some more and noticed only two of the hens were out in the run. One of them, the black sex link named Miss Priss, was obviously in the coop, and it was then that I realized the magic day of the first egg had finally arrived.

I waited for Miss Priss to put an appearance in the run before I went out to check, and when I lifted the opening at the back of the coop, one perfect little brown egg sat there like the beautiful little gift package that it was.

Turns out, the hen I have also called "the dumb one" was the first to produce. Turns out, the first egg was laid on Aug. 6, not that far off schedule. And, now, on Aug. 9, egg production has increased to two per day since Helen Reddy, the Rhode Island Red, has joined in the fun, too.

I now have a grand total of five (count 'em!) eggs! As for the coyote, we're still worried. And Larry, captured here in a photograph mid-yawn, is still under house arrest unless I'm home to supervise.