Foxes

For years I have been thrilled to watch the local fox 'Den Mother' take care of her young pups. This spring she spent hours resting under the hemlock in our back yard. Now I am filled with anxiety each time she shows up looking, I'm sure for food for her pups, in our yard. She has circled around our chicken pen feigning disinterest and pretending to be totally involved in mousing. But, I know that at the first chance she will be trying to take our chickens.

It is an interesting trade off, when we have domestic animals the wild animals become menacing. Before, I loved hearing the coyotes howling, and watching them play in the north pasture was always a highlight of the season, now, my first thought at seeing fox or coyote is: "Are my chickens in danger? What can I do to protect them? Should I shoot it?
Today, I spent some time reinforcing the protective fencing around the chickens. Hopefully, it will work.
Bekah had some interesting ideas - How about buying some field mice from the pet store to leave in vulnerable situations around the chickens as diversions for the fox. I ruled it out as too expensive. She had other ideas, but was getting carried away with her 'smartness'. Kids are great! Even when they are 43 years old and way more clever than their dad.