Worst feeling followed by the best feeling

Last night when I counted the chickens we were one short.

Putting the birds in at night is a feat.  The 17 youngest chicks are in the smaller coop with the stranger rooster that's been back for about a week now.  There are 5 buff orpington chicks and then 12 easter eggers that my students hatched.  They're 2 months old now but since they like to move around when I am counting them, I have to count the five buff chicks first and then count the twelve.  The bigger problem is that they like to hide under the coop and we have to get them all out.

Then I head into the big coop and count the adult birds, 12 total.  And then the guinea, 2 left (one disappeared from the coop last week although we see her alive during the day.)  And then the 9 chicks that are all 3 months old and look the same.

Last night when I counted the adults I had 11.  So then I had to go through them to see which one was missing and for a moment I was scared I wouldn't be able to figure it out.  Do I really know all of my birds?

Clyde.
Big Red 1 (the sick one)
Big Red 2 (the healthy one)
Buffy Sue
Mary Sue
Buffy Two.. Wait... Buffy two was missing.

It was 10 PM, pitch black out because the clouds were covering the moon, and nasty from the rain.

I checked the obvious places (the goat houses) but since the goats were in there hiding from the rain and mud I knew she wasn't there.

It's a terrible feeling to have a missing bird and to know that when it's that dark out and the only normal places she could seek shelter are empty (at least empty of birds) you probably won't find it.

And then I walked over to the tall coop.  The coop that we haven't used since we built the big one.  The doors are always shut, the tiny window is 5 feet off the ground and doesn't have a screen from predators, and the chicken door is at least 3 feet off the ground and doesn't have a ramp or a door.  We simply don't use this coop because I never put the important pieces back on.

This is the window, 5 feet off the ground and even with a flash on the camera you can see how dark it is

And guess who was sitting inside?

I scooped her up and carried her to the big coop and finished my count.

It is the best feeling to find a bird and know that everyone is accounted for.  I'm not sure why she's sneaking off into her own private house and I don't know how she is even getting inside the coop.

Tonight, I found her in the same place...