Tuesday, April 17, 2018

What's Wrong With This Picture?...

This was my chicken pen this morning...

No chickens, and a hole dug under the fence...


I was away last evening, and when I got home around 10:30, I heard some clucking from the chicken pen.  Against my better judgement, I didnt investigate.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

I found lots of feathers and an empty pen this morning. I know it wasn't the dogs,  because I saw them sleeping in the barn when I came home!


I'm pretty sure this is the hole where the culprit entered the pen,  although the smaller hole might be from its offspring.

Jim saw a fox running in the fields the other day, so my guess is that she is now quite satisfied with herself.

And I will now have to buy eggs .

I declare war!

9 comments:

  1. Oh Alica, This just makes me sick! All of them? Foxes are so bad when they have babies. I guess they are bad all of the time. I could hear them outside the other night. So sorry you have to buy eggs.
    What a sad start to the morning. Poor hens. I am so sorry.

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  2. Oh no! I'm sorry for your troubles. How many chickens did you lose? I hope you'll be able to replace them fairly quickly, though I'm sorry you have to do it at all.

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    1. I only had 6 left, but they're all gone now. :( I'd like to replace them...but now that the fox knows where they are, it might just happen again. So we'll see!

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  3. Oh Alica, I'm so sorry. What a sick feeling this must be for you and your family.
    My neighbour lost all his chickens to foxes. I'm not sure how can a person fortify a chicken pen when there are foxes around because they dig to get at their prey. Good for you for declaring war on them. Hugs dear friend.
    Julia

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  4. Dig your fencing down into at least 1 foot deep, some would say 18" is more like it; fencing to just ground level isn't enough where I live (with more coyote than fox, raccoons & skunks also enjoy chicken dinner). You could also rig a door that automatically closes the coop at sundown (solar powered).
    But our first, last, & best defence has always been The Saint, our GSD who patrols endlessly & mercilessly slays anything that broaches her territories. Touch wood, so far we've never lost a chicken or a rabbit.
    Sorry about your chickens. :-(

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  5. Oh dear. How many did you lose? If the dogs were out, would they have prevented it? -Jenn

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  6. Mommas will do amazing things to make sure their babies are fed. Sorry about your hens, really sorry! But that's quite a hole. Fox has won this round but I'm betting you have some tools available on your side of the fence.

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  7. oh no! What a loss and disappointment - especially if you're not sure you can fox-proof the pen well enough. I've heard my best friend (a farmer who has chickens) talk about how hard it is to keep chickens protected from predators. So sorry, Alica.

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