Eggs and a raccoon!

When I go out of town I have a wonderful lady who comes to take care of my pets and look after my house. I was out of town this week for work, and she came as usual to take care of things. She collected the eggs for me and even after taking a half a dozen for herself (I asked her to take as many as she could use) I got home to a bowl piled high with eggs! I am definitely going to be gifting some friends and family with eggs this weekend and coming week because in addition to this bowl I already had almost two dozen in my refrigerator from the week and a half before I left. When the two bantams start laying I am REALLY going to be in egg overload - but I am sure my parents and friends will help me work through them :)

So as exciting as the eggs were to find - we had a little more excitement in store for us. When the kids and I got home this evening it was just before dusk and I thought after being cooped up (literally) for the last week that the girls might like a little yard time so I let them out. I got dinner for the kids and then noticed it had gotten dark so the kids and I went out to close the girls back into the coop for the night. They were all up in the house on their roost but a raccoon was also in the coop and headed into the hen house! The kids screamed and ran into the garage and I ran in grabbed a rake and went out and chased the raccoon out of the coop and out of the yard. Luckily all the girls seemed to be unharmed - I don't think the raccoon had been in the coop long so we got there just in time. I am going to buy a live trap just in case it comes back. If we can catch it I will have animal control take it away. I am sure there are more because I live close to where a creek runs through town, but that is the first time I have seen one in the yard since I got the gate and the coop. I hope I scared it enough not to come back - but I have heard once they start sniffing around a coop they keep coming back. I really don't want them in the garden and I don't want them trying to get the girls - so I will see if I can relocate this one and hopefully not have another for awhile.