A Rare Sight

[Zaicran]

I was hunting deer out on the esstern shore for late rifle and saw my first coyote..

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[Machodoc]

My brother tells me of his experience protecting chickens from the fox. Best response is to lock them in at night and when not being watched. He has an outdoor pen with fencing below ground and over head to keep out the birds, racoons and fox. At night they go into their coop, which is secure and safe.

Chasing a fox with a shotgun only works if you can stand guard 24/7. Otherwise you get dead chickens and maybe a few dead fox. In the end, they all lose.

Yep. This has been an ongoing problem with us for years ... not just with foxes, but also coyotes, eagles, hawks, owls, coons, and even snakes (eating chicks). We usually get about three times as many chicks as we think we'll need when we order them. That's how high the rate of attrition is.

We do shut ours up at night, but that's not always a solution. Some insist on bedding down in their own hiding places, and two breeds that we tried insisted on roosting in trees ... a buffet for the owls. We also allow them to free range in the daytime, since we sell the eggs as free-range eggs at the local market.

But a fox--perhaps the one that my wife saw on the driveway a couple of days back--decided to invade the pen this morning. He's still lying out there now ... a bit perforated. I just don't feel like going out in the rain just yet. Having a bathroom "window blind" overlooking the hen house and pen has its benefits.