I was very sad to loose one of my laying hens yesterday. I suspect it was a hawk the got her. We have a giant pair of red-tails often nearby. The chicken was my best layer, Roxy, a barred rock – the black and white one up front in the picture above. Her carcass was at the edge of the woods, half eaten. I buried it. Now I have three hens. The others are very somber. I imagine it was terrifying for them to see.

Roxy laid big brown eggs. The one up front. I’m thinking about getting another hen or two later in the spring. We were getting 3 eggs a day, 20 a week. I think we’ll only have 2 a day now – about 2 dozen a week. Normally enough for a family of three, but my son is a serious baker. Seven eggs go into his pound cake recipe that’s a regular treat for us, his friends and co-workers.

Poor Roxy.