Thankful that most of the time our flock is able to protect themselves from predators. I was worried after hearing a ruckus just before sunset, heading out to the coop and finding a pile of feathers, then a trail of a few feathers here and there. The trail led to the coop and ALL were safe and sound, The birds, chickens and ducks had brought themselves in and gotten safe from the predators. The flock seem to have an effective system, the roosters sound the alarm and we also have a fairly large contingent of crows who carry on loudly when trouble is near. The birds know that when roosters or crows are sounding the alarm they need to get to safety. It was almost bedtime so I counted the flock, all present, checked over the bird with feather loss, no wound at all just a small patch of feathers pulled out, then shut them up for the night. The whole flocked has marked themselves safe from whatever trouble was in the air this evening.
It's never nice to lose animals to predators and can be very awful but I have had to find a mindset of being careful, taking all the precautions I can and then hoping for the best. I worried so very much our first year with a large flock that I didn't enjoy them as much as I should. Now I enjoy each day with my flock and try not to worry about all the possible things that can happen. I enjoy them while I have them. Each day is a gift in life and in flocks :-) and it's best not to worry about the next day too much.
