Well, there have been no more aerial attacks since the bird netting went up over the chicken run. But Saturday night we lost a little Silver-Laced Wyandotte pullet to a fox. We were inside for maybe half an hour to shower and dress, went back out to put the birds away before dark, counted the little ones and came up one short. Found a few feathers caught in the top of the fencing, and a pile of feathers outside of the run. No body. A bit further back into the woods were more feathers, and bowels. We knew there was a fox den in our woods (one of our friend's kids found it and reported to us about it, bones outside of the hole and all), but we'd hoped the fencing would keep the birds safe. No such luck.
I've posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a trapper/hunter who might want to come and take care of it for us, but until then I'll be getting the birds to bed early and perching on the roof with our newly bought .22 rifle in the evenings. I don't relish the idea of killing it... I think foxes are beautiful and spiritually powerful animals. But I can't keep losing birds. One dead fox instead of 20 dead birds seems reasonable to me. It's my job to keep those birds healthy and safe, and given that every non-lethal option we could think of is ineffective against foxes, we're gonna do what we have to do.
3 comments:
You're gunna have the fox trapped or killed because you guys decided to brings chicks and ducks into the fox's backyard? Seems wrong to me. Fox was there before any of you. Maybe look into making a more secure run/coop?
We've looked into every non-lethal option that is realistic for us, and none of them are fox-proof. As much as I admire the little creatures, the fact is that they are invasive killing machines that will continually return to your yard and outsmart any fencing or scare devices that you put up. They will kill until all of your birds are gone, whether or not they can even eat or store all of that food. They kill for fun, I'm going to kill to protect the animals that trust me to keep them safe. We didn't come to the decision lightly, as vegetarians and animal-lovers, it's very unpleasant. But it has to be done if we want to keep waterfowl and poultry successfully :(
I'm glad to know that you've given it lots of thought. It will be a sad day I'm sure. I don't envy your situation. I'd cry...a lot.
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