Man Down

Actually "hen" down is more accurate.  It has not been a good afternoon.  After finishing work I came down to play with Liam and Charlotte and found myself wondering where Emily was.  Emily is always looking to be the center of attention so to find her missing in action is never a good sign.

A quick look out the window into the back yard confirmed my fears.  One of our new brown hens had flown the coop and I could see Emily towering over her.  I hefted Liam on to one hip and went charging out into the yard but, alas, I was too late, the damage had been done.

A sad sight: hen feathers littering our yard.

Now we know what Emily will do if she is able to catch a chicken.  As horrible as it is, she will eat it alive.  It is not a pretty sight.  I scooped up the injured bird and carried her in one arm with Liam in the other back to the house.  It is a terrible feeling knowing one of your animals has been badly injured and you were not able to protect them.

I then had to decided what to do with her.  Ian was busy in an important work meeting and I had no idea what would be the most humane course of action - so I made an executive decision. I disinfected her wounds, sterilized a needle and thread and stitched her back together.  I then slathered on the Polysporin and put her to rest in a crate in the mudroom.

I have no idea if she will live.  I think she might be in shock and understandably so.  I guess we will reassess in the morning.  I do not know if I did the right thing.  I am not sure how resilient chickens are but I figured we would never cull a human if all they needed was some stitches so maybe a bird just needs the same chance to bounce back?  I don't know.  Like I said, it was a bad afternoon.