Pore ole Chickens

This is the Moon rise from last night, it was just too lovely to pass up.

The Hot tub had sprung a leak and we had to go to town to get some parts. I wanted to leave early so that I could get back to fly Jessie, so I was up before daylight doing the chores. One of which was letting the Chickens out and feeding every body. I had done so and was putting the Hawks out in the weathering area, when I heard a Chicken calling for help. It is not something that you can misinterpret. I was in the shop preparing to get Yogi, and looked out the side window towards the woodshed, and saw a Coyote run down and catch a Chicken. Luckily I had not yet untied Yogi, so I took off running for the house and a gun. I grabbed my 12 gauge double and pelted out the front door.            

The Coyote was a bit preoccupied, plus he was just outside the yard, so he barely had time to spit the Chicken out and start to run. The first blast spun him around and the second finished him. Both dogs had run over to see what I was so excited about, but I was able to keep them back from him.

I had just been out there and I always throw a scoop of feed to the Pigeons, and the Chickens. The Coyote managed to kill and eat one of the feeding Pigeons, and then decided that Chicken would  provide the main course.

This is apparently where he caught the Rooster, and it was where the screams were coming from. Somehow the Rooster got away from him and fled towards the house.

You can see the stream of Chicken feathers leading away.

This is where he ended up. He was just in front of the wood shed when he caught the Chicken.

I am pretty sure that I got the right one. He was really fat and in good condition right up to the time of the shooting. I was really surprised that he would be so bold as to come right into the yard while both the Dogs and I were out there fooling around. The Rooster limped off, still alive by some miracle.

After the dust cleared and I disposed of the body, we went on to town. When we returned at 4 PM I started looking for the Rooster. Karen retrieved him from the pool, which I had drained just the day before. Apparently one of his eyes was pretty swollen, and he fell in, and wasn't able to get out. At least he had water. Karen shooed him back into the Chicken house. Hopefully he will recover. There is one small chick missing, not sure if the Coyote got him or not. Time will tell.