My beautiful babies are dead!

[shay20]

Oh so sorry,

 

[Deanner03]

I am so sorry for your loss! Please keep us updated on your new adoptees!!!

 

[TriciaHowe]

I am so sorry for your losses.

 

[Penturner]

Very sorry for your loss. It is in many ways a learning experience in keeping our animals safe. How strong is strong enough? any nook or cranny that is to weak or to large of a hole or can be worked at will be found and taken advantage of such as your door. Mostly these weaknesses are not found without some level of disaster being involved. i have had rabbits that coyotes where relentless about getting to. Pigs that destroyed there pen in 30 seconds flat, and this was after it being inspected and approved by people that had kept pigs. birds of all kinds escape through the slightest flaw in design. and have even had Flight areas co;apse under a build up of snow resulting in the death of a single $1000 bird. You learn to design and build better through them. you gain the ability to see flaws before your animals do and know what to do about it. you gain a better sense of what strong really is and you can even get good enough to out fox a fox. Good luck with your adoptees and in the mean time build a better door.

 

[fordmommy]

 

[Heidi]

I'm so sorry for your lost. It's a bird lovers worse nightmare. My thoughts are with you.

 

[jlapham]

Nature it's amazing! Sorry to hear about your loss. Here is a tip. If it was a fox rest assured it knows where the food supply is and is most likely got a den somewhere around. I would trap the fox (live trap) determine the sex of the fox see if it's nursing and move it away. I do everything I can do before I make a decision to put it down.

Get your door fixed and get some more chickens.

 

[SteveH]

I am sorry for your losses , but applaud your positive attitude . I'm thinking that working with the battery hens will be a challenging but rewarding experience for yourselves and the chickens both .

 

[chuckyjo]

Oh thank you guys!

I don't have the means or expertise to go trapping a fox.....I don't think my neighbours and I are as rural as most of you! My chickens are the nearest thing to country living I've experienced! The only thing I can really do (and have been doing dilligently) Is to fox-proof the garden and the chicken shed. It's got new bolts, doors, latches etc etc.

My Daughter and I are really, really excited about getting our ex-bats. Will be a totally different experience from raising our last flock, but we always were suckers for a sob story!