As you’ve probably read in my and Mike’s columns over the past few months we have a predator taking out our beloved pets – domestic and barnyard varieties respectively.
Now the challenge has been to identify said beasty that takes advantage of hens, roosters, and outdoor cats.
We’ve explored Google and sought the help of several experts in agriculture and veterinary medicine, but were no closer to finding our possible culprit.
We also included the possibility of raccoons, coyotes, foxes, an owl or other raptor birds in those discussions, but have no real proof outside of our own animal remains on our property.
And we feel like we’ve done everything in our power - including installing motion-activated lights and cameras for added security!
Now, the cameras aren’t those fancy sort of game cams that can spot some prize buck over 20 yards away.
But, we did notice there were more and more periods between deaths and considered that the problem was possibly from several other wild animals instead of just one.
Though nothing has ever come from that footage.
So, we’re basically keeping the pets inside or on a leash and making sure the chickens make it into their coop and get shut up for the night.
However, the strangest thing happened last Friday morning while the morning fog was still being burned off, I heard our neighbor’s ducks screaming far too much.
When I looked over our grassy acreage to their pond and where the ducks presumably hung out overnight, I saw a quickly trotting four-legged animal that could have been a fox or adolescent coyote.
Then again, it’s hard to be really sure which animal it was, but it certainly upset the ducks and made me wait a few minutes longer before opening up our chicken coop to let our hens free-range and forage.
Naturally, I relayed the news to mom and Mike as soon as possible and we’re discussing whatever possible next steps are on the agenda.
I still believe that as long as we continue to take extra precautions for our hens and the dogs then we should be just fine.
Sort of like, if you take the predator’s food away or make it harder to access then perhaps it’ll move on and hunt somewhere.
I mean, that’s the thought process and hope, right?
Then again, I’m not an expert on wild animals’ hunting or foraging habits by any means.
Especially since the closest I’ve ever come to a deer, alligator, or other wild game was in a car or in some sort of savory recipe situation – I’m looking at you Camofest cooking guides!
I just don’t subscribe to the idea that we need traps, game cams, aggressive deterrents, or to camp out one night to take more aggressive action for the sake of some chickens.
Sure, having fresh eggs daily is nice and certainly makes breakfast or baking more convenient.
But, at the same time, this batch of hens has been a bit more aggressive than others in the past and they have no sense of boundaries either.
I’ve had the hens and roosters come close and try to either attack me or peck at my Crocs charms – they even do it to mom and she’s their main food source provider.
I suppose I’ll change my mind if something happens to our dogs, but, until then I think it’s just part of the circle of life!
