And Then There Was One

About a month ago, we introduced you to new life on the farm IN THIS POST.  Four little Barred Rock chicks hatched out and were following the momma.  She clucked and protected them.  She ruffled her feathers and scolded when animals (or people) got too close.  The momma hen was very crafty and set on the nest in secret.  She surprised us all with her little brood of four little biddies following closely after her, learning from her.

A month later, give or take a few days, and there is only one baby chick left.  There's the baby below all feathered out.

We really don't know what happened to the other three.  There are so many things that could have happened.  First, cows.  The chickens dart to and fro in between the legs of the cows.  I don't know why they do this, but they do.  Sometimes, a cow will step on a chicken and she will be lame for a week or so.  Sometimes they never recover.  One of our cows could have stepped on three of them and squished them down into the mud where we'd never find the little carcass, who knows?

Then, there could have been predators that snacked on 3 of the chicks.  We have red-tailed hawks flying around constantly that would not be shy about swooping down and getting a three piece chicken dinner to go.  We also have a number of chicken snakes on the prowl around the barn.  Mainly they eat rats and eggs, but a baby chick (or three) would have been a nice treat.  Finally, we have critters back by the woods such as possums that would enjoy a chick to eat.  I personally saw the chicks darting between the 4x4 holes in the hog wire despite the momma hens' protests. 

That would be my best guess - the chicks ventured outside of the safety provided by the momma and met a gruesome end.  Fact of the matter is, such is life.  Sometimes, animals just die.  You can try to do everything you can to protect them, but it is a cruel, hard world out there.  Best be careful and not make mistakes.  They could be very costly.  I've always heard it said that you should learn from your mistakes.  I think it is even better to learn from the mistakes of OTHERS!  Hopefully, the one chick remaining did exactly that.