More Mayhem in the Chicken Pen
When I went outside to feed my critters this morning, I was saddened to discover one of my laying hens was dead and partly eaten. Uhgg! We live on the edge of the National Forest and our poultry is a tempting target for all the predators that live in the woods. It could have been the bobcat that killed the hen. But, it also could have been a raccoon, or weasel, or skunk. Some people I know would set up traps to catch and kill the predators. But, I think that isn't a reasonable solution because our poultry will just continue to lure in more predators. It just doesn't seem right to me to kill predators for following their instincts. Also one of the very reasons I love living on the edge of the national forest is seeing glimpses of wildlife. We are always feel very blessed when we are privileged to see God's creatures in their natural habitats. (If I was living back in time homesteading in the wilderness 1870's and I depended on those hens laying eggs to feed my children, it would be a different story!)
So our solution will be either not raise chickens at all, or to build a solid walled predator proof chicken coop.
So our solution will be either not raise chickens at all, or to build a solid walled predator proof chicken coop.
Linnea,
So sorry about the chicken. There may have been more I missed before? One Christmas morning my brother in law went out to feed his dear chickens, and a bobcat had gotten in during the night and just slaughtered more than 20, broken lights, just terrible, and they like pets or friends after we spend all the time caring for them and receiving their eggs, etc. James had taken the tractor out to the back and thus made a trail through the snow that the bobcat followed up to the hen house. They do still keep chickens, but have a very high fence and things around the bottom so animals can't easily dig under.
Eileen in Kelowna