There's Varmints in the City

Our little piece of urban-country was invaded by a varmint, probably a raccoon who attacked and killed two of our three chickens. Although we made the coop and hen house fully-enclosed, the chickens scratching at the ground began erroding underneath the enclosure in some places. I had been noticing that we should repack the earth in a few areas, but alas, that sneaky varmint took advantage of the lowered defenses and dug under the wire. Colin went to check for eggs and found the carnage. And carnage it was. Our sweet, beautiful Mille Fleur Bantam 'Peeper' and Auracana 'Rose' are gone. I will miss them. But before the sympathies start rolling in, let me say this. I am a farm-girl living in the city (I have been called 'a modern Laura Ingalls'), trying to create a bit of urban-country on our 50' by 100' lot. When 'Lucy' the hen turned out to be a 'Lucifer' I was all ready to eat that rooster. But the children begged to try Craigslist for a home and so we did. Though I was fond of the chickens, they had quit laying and truthfully were never great layers to begin with. We were planning on getting a new batch of chicks this spring and so this makes the transition a bit easier. Nature and it's power is evident even in the city. Kinda cool.