Hi @Appleblossom, @Former-Member, @Former-Member, @Former-Member, @PeppiPatty et al
Thanks so much for your loving supportive words of comfort.
I took a couple of days of being very inward while I processed the loss, but I am doing much better now.
It is a tremendous comfort to me that my chooks were spoiled ROTTEN and had the very best chicken lives possible, and that their last weekend was a particualrly lovely one, with wonderful weather and a lot of garden work that they enjoyed so much.
This was my feathered family and I will miss them, but I remain so very glad to have had them in my life at all. They had wonderful distinct personalities, made a wonderful flock, and brought us so much joy.
It has been hard to see the garden in the same way, and I am probably going to dismantle the coop this weekend.
Even if I do get more chooks I need a fresh start (and for purely practical reasons, the old coop was getting a bit ratty and is clearly not secure enough).
It is hard to feel like it will be safe to let any chooks free range during the day now that a fox has been in the yard, I fear it will come back and check again, and I am not always able to get home before dark to lock them safely away. I hate the idea of keeping chickens penned up though, free range or nothing!
If only I could work out where/how it got in I would feel more able to defend against it, but we have gone over everything and cannot find so much as a footprint or wisp of fur to indicate how it got into the back yard. Fox proofing the whole yard is too cost prohibitive unfortunately (i'd love to though as that would effectively also cat proof the yard and keep my cats IN where it is safe without having to be inside).
Well the garden feels a bit lifeless without chooks In spite of all the flowers and so on, so I am probably going to get more, closer to xmas as the breeding season has only just begun.
Funeral is tomorrow - must say the meds are clearly doing good things as I am only mildly concerned about spending a day surrounded by highly emotional near strangers who will all be very touchy feely at me (truly my idea of a nightmare). Then I am taking several days off work - I planned this to 'recover' from the funeral but wonder how much recovery I will even need.
Not sure what I will do with my time off - normally I would garden but like I said the garden just isn't right anymore...being out there just feels flat and pointless. Might work on clearing some space in the shed for my home gym instead.
My older cat who has cancer is also declining a bit. Probably won't be much longer till we have to put him down - we have had time to get used to the idea, but it is a hard decision when we love him so much, he was a neglected stray with behavioural problems, but in our care has become so well adjusted and happy and such a loving perfect cat. Again we consle ourselves with having given him the very best home we possibly could, and treasuring the fact that he enriched our lives so much.