I love nature! That's why I moved out in the country. But I hate when predators go after my chickens!!!!
Today was a busy day and I normally would have gotten my chickens in earlier, but ironically was talking on the phone with a guy about adopting a dog as protection for my chickens at the time that I normally would have put the chickens in their run.
We got the kids to bed and I was about to put my chickens in, and I saw one of the BAs going faster than usual, and in the front yard where they never go. When I got a closer look, it seemed she was being chased. I ran in the direction of the chase and saw a grey fox with my BA, Zoe, in its mouth. I ran after it shouting every curse word in my vocabulary. And luckily it let her go and my little girl ran right over to me- the fox in the opposite direction.
I gave her a good look-over and she was very traumatized but just seemed to have lost a lot of feathers, and a few little superficial wounds
, so I brought her back to her very frightened flock. Then I took a head count. There was also a white leghorn, Big Bird (my best layer) missing, and a bunch of white feathers scattered around. My husband walked to the front of the house and found her as well. That only left my little banty roo, Grover. I looked everywhere, and then I saw another fox run right through the backyard, past the coop. I wandered in the direction he ran from and found a lot of little banty feathers.
I am so irate!!!
He was the sweetest chicken we had, the only one the kids could walk up to and hold. I looked everywhere and called him, but he didn't come...
The girls are very upset, they were calling him from the run with a very panicked cry. I think they know that he sacrificed himself to save them.
So now my BA is panting and scared out of her mind. She didn't go up on the roost when they all went into the coop, but lied down in a corner. What should I do? Should I treat her wounds, they are all very minor, mostly from pulled feathers, but there are a few skin tears. What do you all use for wounds? Can I use benzoil peroxide to clean everything?
Today was a busy day and I normally would have gotten my chickens in earlier, but ironically was talking on the phone with a guy about adopting a dog as protection for my chickens at the time that I normally would have put the chickens in their run.
We got the kids to bed and I was about to put my chickens in, and I saw one of the BAs going faster than usual, and in the front yard where they never go. When I got a closer look, it seemed she was being chased. I ran in the direction of the chase and saw a grey fox with my BA, Zoe, in its mouth. I ran after it shouting every curse word in my vocabulary. And luckily it let her go and my little girl ran right over to me- the fox in the opposite direction.
I gave her a good look-over and she was very traumatized but just seemed to have lost a lot of feathers, and a few little superficial wounds
I am so irate!!!
So now my BA is panting and scared out of her mind. She didn't go up on the roost when they all went into the coop, but lied down in a corner. What should I do? Should I treat her wounds, they are all very minor, mostly from pulled feathers, but there are a few skin tears. What do you all use for wounds? Can I use benzoil peroxide to clean everything?
