Yesterday,
one of the absolute worst things happened. My phone went off while we
were in church (that’s not the bad thing). Now, there’s only three to four
people who call me on a regular basis and they were all sitting next to
me, so I knew something was up. And it was. It was my neighbor calling to say
she’d seen one of my chickens being carried away by a fox. Now, I know what you’re
thinking; a little dramatic here Melanie, don’t you think? And you’d be right,
except for one thing:
That is
Hannah, my nine year old daughter. She loves these chickens, has named each
one, and spends the majority of her day playing with them. The one in question,
Belinda, was her pupil in chicken school (she had a nasty habit of pecking
everyone but Hannah, so Hannah has been trying to reform her). I even have a
video of her pushing one on a baby swing. I kid you not. So, needless to say,
one of these precious ones being carted off by the big bad fox led to more than
a little trauma and tears at our house yesterday. And after finding such a tasty meal I'm sure the fox will be back. Any suggestions?
I don't think it's dramatic at all! It's always sad when we lose our furry (or feathered) friends. So sorry about Belinda!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry! Do you have a dog that can protect the hen house?
ReplyDeleteNo, but that's a great idea. Thanks Alex!
DeleteHow awful. I feel so bad for your daughter. I remember when a neighbors little dog was nabbed by a wolf - horrible to consider. Sorry, I've no solution.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for you daughter and yet it is a lesson too in the ways of nature. I think building a fox-proof pen may be the only way to prevent it happening again. Or, live-trap the fox and take it to a different area, far away.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I feel so bad for your daughter. No advice to offer, just my sympathy. I hope you can figure out how he got in and find a way to chase him off.
ReplyDeletewww.smpace.com
That's so terrible. I didn't know foxes would be so bold during the day. We always penned out chickens up at night to keep out the foxes. You need a dog. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat is awful! Does their area have a fence on top as well? I think people around me do that for hawks, but I guess you have to figure out how the fox got in/out to figure out how to make sure it doesn't happen again :/.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to your A to Z posts though.