Amen! I'll tell you how those birds got there.....I lost 20 chicks as soon as they were hatched this spring to a pair of black snakes. That's a hard hit, right off the bat and I'd never had that many lost to snakes before.
Then, in September or so, I had been working on the roosting section of my coop, had stripped it and hadn't put netting back on the hoops yet and I had an owl kill one of my birds, but didn't manage to get it out of the coop...think the dog stopped that. Attacked two hens out in the field but the dog foiled that attack, got a cut on his face in that skirmish. Both hens had to be culled, internal injuries were too bad. Several of my younger birds were picked off at dusk as they were still out ranging or in the early morning when it was still kind of dark out...the owl got smart and didn't attempt it in the dog's territory then.
Well, my first thought was to pen up the younger birds~replacement layers and fall meat supply~so I did for a week or so, then started thinking about that and changed my mind. Instead, I prayed about it and decided to trust God, like I always do about free ranging. This was the worst predator loss I had suffered in 40 yrs of free ranging combined and I was starting to feel a little anxious about our meat supply, getting a little mad too...but God soon chided me on that and I gave it over to Him, as I should have from the beginning. He cares for those birds more than I do and He is in control of their lives...if it served His purpose to let them be taken by predators, then I'm content with that. His thoughts are higher than mine.
Well...I let those birds loose and I don't think I lost anymore at that point but I had lost 8-9 birds total in that onslaught.
Then, out of the blue, one of my sisters decided to get rid of her flock, wanted to know if I wanted them...that was sort of strange because she doesn't kill chickens and she knows I do, but she gave them to me anyway. Seventeen birds, varying ages, most of them older, but she did have 5 BA pullets that would mature this fall/winter. Well, BAs are my favorite laying breed and I always have a few in my flocks, but I was down to just one 3 yr old BA hen.
One of her hens died from the move...she was FILLED with cancer and I do mean filled. I've never seen anything like that before. But the rest were harvested except for the 5 BAs and one EE bird that I saved back for my little grandgirl.
Same sister had given me 4 cockerels earlier in the year and my son brought me 3 cockerels he got for free elsewhere and all those were harvested for meat.
So, the good, good Lord gave me replacement meat for the ones I had lost and also replacement layers that will lay better than those that I lost. The best part of that story was that I feed my birds fermented feed, so their meat has a better flavor than the typical yard bird, but it turns out my sis was feeding her flock spent brewers grains, yielding the same effect for the meat. How's that for a twist?
God not only gave me replacements for my lost meat, but He also made sure the meat had the same mild, flavorful taste.
He is truly a great and good Father to me!
