Saturday, July 11, 2009

Replacement Crop


Mr. Fox has been especially cruel to us this year. In 2 hauls he took us from 13 chickens down to 4. We close everyone in at night, but the fox must have been coming just before we got home from work.


Last year we had a couple hens disappear. We didn't really know what happened to them until one day we saw a fox creeping around the back yard. We thought it was a one time loss. Then one morning we had a big pile of feathers in the yard. The fox got our best rooster ever, Buffy. That one was the worst because we found his body in the woods. If your going to kill my chickens, at least eat them.....Then Pigee.




As much as we like letting everyone free range, enough was enough. We built a ramshakle run off of our ramshakle coup. I have no problem letting them out in the yard if we are around, but otherwise they stay closed in. We were lucky enough to find someone who was thinning out their crop of hens and we able to pick up 2 barred rocks, 1 buff orpington, and one light brahma. Our survivors are one arucana, 1 guinea hen, and our light brahma rooster. So we are back up to 7 birds, and that should so us just fine.


7 comments:

Maggie said...

Ouch, that hurts! I can tell you fox stories, including one in which I tried to run one down who had just made a hit and run attack. They are deadly. It turned out to be a rare grey fox that fish and game said is protected. My poor chickens (and yours!) What a ghastly end. I hope it was quick...

Danni said...

Ohhh...that's so horrible. Good job fixing up something to keep them all safer. We all want our "babies" to be able to free range to their hearts' content, but sometimes it just isn't possible. Your chickens are beautiful. And how in the world do you keep anything alive in their run? It looks like you've got pretty substantial growth in there - mine chickens would have turned it all to dust in a matter of hours! lol

Anna said...

Ugh....Maggie.....grey fox are protected??!!??? I hope just in NY. Ours is a grey fox as well. I ran after him with a 2x4. Tony has been out in the woods for weeks now waiting to get him with his bow. I am not a fan of hunting....at all....but we are at our wits end.
Danni- Well they have only been in there for a week or 2. They have destroyed about half of it. I plan to rake in some grass seed and se if any of it takes. Ive been throwing in fresh sand and dirt in a little pit I made for them to really scratch in and roll around in. We will see how long it lasts.

MamaHen said...

Sorry to hear about your chicks. I know that is discouraging. I know this is gross, but have you tried any type of urine to scare the fox away? They sell cougar urine etc. for such things.

Anna said...

Annie
No fear about seeming gross.... I have researched the urine thing. Coyote pee would be the thing to use around here, but I fear that that may attract coyotes. That would make my problems worse....then I would fear my cats safety. I watched the fox one night in my yard walk right up to one of my cats, look at him, and then keep going.

MamaHen said...

Ah, you are correct; hadn't thought about that.

Maggie's Farm said...

If one can look at it this way...foxes are important for keeping the rodent population down. I believe in the balance of nature - which tries to prevail in spite of all we humans do to disrupt it!