don't count your chickens

We are trying not to count our chickens before they are processed. Just a few weeks ago we lost a total of 100 birds, and that has a huge effect on us: left with enough for our CSA shares but not enough for market. 

The addition of the big dog has cut our losses to zero. As his growl rumbles across the property it seems that our marauders are munching on other things during the night. 

We are cautiously optimistic that our flocks from now until November will be intact at processing time. As chicken growers we need chickens to...sell.