sad times...

Today was a sad day for the Canaan Farms Chicks. We lost one of our own. Despite the continuous checking in and time spent planning, a snake got into the coop and took one of the little black chicks. Today, when I went out to check on them, I counted and couldn't find the 6th black chick. As I turned around, I spotted it. There it was... that evil snake who I inevitably reaped vengeance upon.

Obviously, as you can tell, there is my chick inside this 5 1/2 ft. chicken snake. Clearly, I wasn't going to let him get away with it. I spent the afternoon raking out the snake (with the help of a few others) and chopping it until it died. 

Now, I have officially checked on them 3 times already to make sure that they are safe. That was definitely not a highlight to my day, and I am very sad because of it. But, now I am going to continue to check the coop, be extra cautious when checking on the chickens, and continue to fortify it against predators like this.