A loss...

I don't know if this is taking things too lightly, but Game of Thrones has the tag- Winter is Coming.

There is truth to that, food gets harder to find, and it's colder, so life becomes more of a struggle.

I had noticed Eagle wasn't hanging out with Dove.

Where was Dove?

Husband told me today, he'd found her a day or so ago, she'd been attacked by a raccoon, (we think).  He'd buried what was left of her, and had forgotten to tell me about it, until I'd mentioned it.  I think, because she was so shy, she didn't like being with the other birds, and that might have been what got her into trouble.

I am sad that she didn't get to be a full sized bird.  But she was sure a lovely thing while she lasted...

Eagle and Dove.

I think I mentioned that Mon Ami was a Dad.  I have two young birds with his coloring, and extra toes. I have named them Eagle and Dove.  Though, the way they act in the mornings, Parrot and Budgie might be more accurate. 

Eagle, like his (?) namesake, is mostly dark feathered from the neck back, with a white head.  Slightly bigger than Dove, he is really not aggressive.  Guess he has a lot of his dad in him.  He is fast, loves to run around, and seems to be the quickest to find almost any food, any where.  (Well, he is a teenager, I guess).  I have been waiting to see if he gets big, since Mom was a large breed hen, but so far, he's not that large. 

Eagle

Actually, neither is Dove.  She has a little color, but it's more the buff of her Mom, with a white head.  She, like her namesake, is shy, and tends to stay under protective tree limbs, or hang out with Eagle, but if there is the least bit of kerfuffle, she is GONE. 

Dove

They are lovely looking right now, which is nice, because a lot of my poor hens, and the two roosters...

Oh, molting is finally over, and it couldn't have come any sooner!  Sad and pathetic.  But, I am sure next year, they will have to take the indignity of being really crappy looking for a while, too. 

Oh, the Parrot and Budgie thing?  In the mornings, when I go out to feed, I have to open the door to the hen house.  There is a large metal screen on the window of the door.  Most mornings, when the two of them realize I am going to open the door, they fly up, grab onto the screen, and cluck at me a few times, before jumping off and gliding over to the 'landing' area nearby.  None of the others, including Mon Ami, have ever done this, and I am not entirely sure why they do.  They seem to be good at it, however!