Fox 'attack'

I was eating breakfast this morning when I saw a fox come through the hedge and go straight to the hen coop. The chickens were safe inside, but they ran around frantically flapping, feathers flying everywhere. Of course I ran out shouting at the fox, and it looked for an exit, couldn't find one and jumped over the netting fence around the coop and up the garden. Our chickens remained nervous for some while afterwards.

We now realise this must have been what happened last Wednesday. No one had checked on the chooks all day, and when I went to have a look at them in the evening there were a lot of feathers in one corner and others scattered inside the run. I thought some feather pecking or other aggressive behaviour had taken place, which did seem out of character, but we thought they must have been bored or hungry. Now it is clear that Mr Fox (or his mate) must have shown an interest in them and put them in a blind panic.

This evening I saw the fox again, coming down the top of the garden, so I went out to scare him away.

We're wondering if we might need to invest in some electric fencing as that is meant to keep foxes out very well, although if he's around the edge of that the chickens might still panic.

A Fox and A Fourth Egg

When I looked out the window this morning I saw a large, old fox at the top of the garden, possibly lingering to eat some bird food on the ground, but I wasn't very happy to see him/her there and chased him away before letting the girls out of their roosting quarters. I kept a look out for some while, but didn't see him again.

Betsy was unperturbed and laid another egg today, her fourth, about half past nine.

New residents expected soon.

A new addition to our garden this year will be 3 brown Warren chickens, at least that is what we are expecting. Hubby ordered a Boughton starter kit complete with 3 point of lay pullets from Forsham Cottage Arks yesterday as they were part of a good offer. They are due to arrive with their housing and a man to set it all up, mid-February, which is a bit earlier than we had originally planned, but it is starting to feel quite exciting.

We hope the Boughton chicken coop really is fox-proof as Mr Fox, or was it his wife, was sniffing around our garden this morning and we know the Fox family often pay us a visit at night.

Warren chickens are a hybrid breed bred for the battery farming of chickens, also known as ISA Browns. They are a French breed of chicken, which is a cross between Rhode Island Red and Rhode Island White chickens. This means they are hardy and good egg layers. From what I can gather they probably lay brown eggs. It sounds like they could be a good breed of hen to start with, but I think I'd like to try something more interesting if our initial experiment proves successful. Our daughter had her eye on some Sussex hens, but we don't know what is available locally.


The photo is the best I could manage from the kitchen window. With reference to the photo below, the fox is just above the raspberries and blueberries.