Getting three new girls seemed like a good idea at the start of the week… for it was only a week ago one of our old brown hens went missing… now the penny has dropped and my lesson learned the hard way.
It seems from what I hear, foxes can either snatch and whisk away, or kill in the coop, clenching at the hens neck, possibly getting spooked, leaving the mess with intention of returning. It is highly likely the little bugger is living in the paddock next door, a greenbelt area with a creek running through it. And now the fox has taken two, it's likely to return for another!
Our coop has been quite suffice the last few years, but a complete overhaul is now likely, which means digging down at least a foot with fencing and covering over the top. It will also mean restricted grazing in their secondary paddock (aka dam area).
So out with some leftover chicken wire I went about completely enclosing their house this afternoon. I'm not taking any risks, pegged down with tent pegs, no escaping and hopefully no intruders. My four remaining hens (two old ISA's and the two new Australorps) are going to be close quarters the next few days until I can come up with some fox solutions…
No comments:
Post a Comment