For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been watching our chicken flock slowly dwindle.
One evening – just minutes after enjoying some time on the deck and in the yard – Aaron spotted a “bobcat” running from the orchard to the wood line behind the pond. He quickly noticed that it had a chicken in its mouth and jetted to the coop to check things out.
Our chickens had been free-ranging – as they do everyday. Sadly, the predator had gotten several of them and left them dead in the yard. All the others had frantically scattered and were slowly revealing themselves from the barns and nearby cover.
While Aaron went hunting for the animal that evening, he didn’t have any luck tracking it into the wood line. The next evening, it happened again.
After a few days of peace, we pulled in the driveway this evening to spot a fox chasing the chickens through the yard once again.
We have some obvious work to do to keep our animals safe.