And then there were 7...

Can I just say this right off the bat?  Having livestock sucks sometimes.  We lost one of the Silkies last night, Bakey.  I checked on the chickens after work, like I always do, and refilled the water and food.  All the chickens went nuts when I let them loose in the garden for a bit and they all munched on some fresh greens (and left my tomato plants alone).  I went out about 3 1/2 hours later to close up the coop for the night and Bakey was stretched out in the run.

I hollered for my husband and went in to try to figure out what happened.  The chicken wire was intact and Bakey didn't have any marks or blood on her.  Ok, that's good in a way.  It's good that one of the neighbor dogs didn't get her, but now I'm stumped as to what happened.  Temperatures have been up here, like they have pretty much everywhere else in the US right now.  I put out water and ice cubes before work every morning, made sure the fan was on if it was going to be over 90 degrees and called the kids on my lunch hour to have them check the water.  First thing I always do after work is check the chickens.  (Can you tell I'm blaming myself a bit?)

Bakey got a quick burial in the backyard, near where Tweetie is.  I tell myself that Bakey had a lot of fun in her 3 months of life - fresh air, river views, people to play with her, healthy food, water and plenty of tomatoes and watermelon.  I know this is part of having chickens but it still sucks.

I was afraid to go out to the coop this morning, afraid I'd have more chickens dead from who knows what.  The remaining 7 were just fine, although the other Silkies, Shakey and Buttercup, didn't want to come out of the coop.  They kept looking out the window and their peeps sounded so sad.  Shakey didn't want to be picked up and eventually came out of the coop.  Buttercup stopped on the ramp and looked so sad, I picked her up and snuggled her for a bit.  After a few minutes, she wanted down and ran off to play with the other chickens. 

I'm worried about the rest of 'em.  I don't know what happened to Bakey so I can't keep the others safe.  Bud thinks Bakey had a heart attack, based on the fact she was stretched out in the middle of the run, like she was a marionette whose strings were suddenly cut.  I don't know if chickens can have heart attacks!  A couple of generations ago, I could have gone and asked the neighbors what could have happened, or I might have known because I grew up with them.  It's amazing how much knowledge can disappear in just a couple of generations.