Aggh! Fox just swiped my hen.

[Pebblespony]

Fox just took one of my hens. I only bloody had two. The hens were fenced into a section of the (rural) back garden. She took her at half seven and the dog was snoozing about six feet away. We were on the lookout as there was a cub in our garden one night over the weekend but I thought having the dog out would help. It turns out that the dog is a useless, lovable bastard.

I'd be gutted if I lost one of mine to a fox.

I hate it when they get old and I lose one.

Also, it means I'm down to one hen now. Poor girl, not sure what to do with her.

Well I wouldn’t leave her out there for a start.

Poor hen.

No, she's locked in now. They were locked in at night in a small secure run and out in a larger, but less secure, run by day if we were around and the dog out. We lost another one to peritonitis (we had to put her down) a few weeks ago.

Have you got an electric fence?

If I was particularly heard hearted I would say have a word with the local gamekeeper or someone with a shotgun and say goodnight to Mr Foxy but I know that’s not fair on the poor old fox, he’s only doing what comes naturally.

The fox definitely has cubs. We've seen them. I don't really begrudge her the meal to be honest. Just wish it wasn't my lovely hen. I have electric fence for ponies so might get DH to rustle something up. We're moving soon anyway. Can't wait to have our own place where we can put up something permanent and fox proof.

Poor remaining hen needs some more friends.

I don't want to rush into getting more hens as I'm not sure I could keep them safe in the current setup. I'm not sure about giving her away either as I think she might have early stage peritonitis. She's an ex batt. It's not fair to give her away if she's ill. I might have a chat with the vet tomorrow and if she's as ill as I think, it might be better to put her down. She can't stay on her own though so Ill have to come up with something.

Aww, that’s sad but you’d be doing her a kindness if she’s that ill.

You will definitely have to invest in some electric fencing. We used to have a big chicken run with chicken wire mesh strung over the top so nothing could get in or out and electric fencing around the top and bottom. You had to stoop to get to the hen house to collect the eggs but we never lost one.