Day 758 Sly Fox

 

Counting my chickens, coming up short. Tim called me to sound the alarm that a couple of our girls were missing and he found two roaming the yard when he arrived home. I advised him to check the bottom perimeter of the coop, clearly there's a weak spot somewhere. By the time I got home he had found the point of exit and was preparing reinforcements. It looks like a predator was able to dig enough to create an opening and although it wasn't  able to get inside the coop, clearly it had a big enough gap to pull out a couple girls. Our sweetest golden comet was taken, leaving only a few feathers behind. We also lost one of our new little ones, a Speckled Sussex. Thankfully, whatever took them wasn't able to decimate our entire flock. I'm guessing it was a fox, they dig under and snatch birds to take them back to their den, our attack has all the signs. For the most part our coop is predator proof, but a sly fox will find a way! Tim and I worked diligently for over an hour, placing bricks around the fence line, adding soil inside the coop and scanning the structure for any other vulnerabilities. We are both so darn mad at losing our birds, especially our sweet tempered Golden Comet! It will be almost impossible for me to pass by that breed in the store without picking up a few more, they have become our favorite breed. Each time I arrive home with more chicks I remind Tim how quickly chicken math changes, especially with predators constantly lurking. As we were reinforcing the coop our girls were enjoying the afternoon sunshine while free ranging and a hawk took notice. We could see the hawk circling them and had to quickly get them back into their fortress before we lost another one! Poor Tim gets so upset when there's an attack, not that I don't, I am just more accustomed to it, having grown up with farm animals..either that or he's just more sensitive than I am? He sat outside, watching our flock, daring a predator to come back on his watch. He will wake up throughout the night at the slightest sound outside and spring into action to protect our girls. I'll be securing the perimeter a bit more in the morning, checking the chicken wire for weak spots, counting my chickens and hoping they stay safe while we're away for the day. Once a fox has enjoyed a chicken dinner, they will undoubtedly be back for more. Fingers crossed my girls will be safe.