Friday 24 September 2010

the chooks died


While I was not writing blog posts our chooks were all killed by a fox. The two old ones, and a new one we'd only had for about six weeks and who hadn't even started laying eggs yet, the poor baby. It was the middle of the night and we heard nothing and knew nothing until the morning. Dorian went out the back door to go to work and came back in immediately. He told me to sit down on the bed because there had been a disaster. My first thought was of Basil but I had seen him in the kitchen just a minute before so I thought it couldn't be him. Dorian said all the chooks had been killed. We went outside and it was horrible. There were feathers all over the yard and some spots of blood on the concrete. There was a torn-off wing half-buried in a flowerbed, and worst of all, around the corner of the house there was a headless chicken corpse just dropped there. Presumably the fox had dropped it as it ran to jump over the low brick wall.

Dorian buried the headless one under a china flat peach tree. I think it was the boss chook, judging by its weight. The poor old thing. Although the chook I really feel sad for was the new one, which we were calling No.3, because she never had the fun that the others did. They had only just stopped being mean to her, pulling her feathers and so on. I don't know if we'll get any others.

13 comments:

Elisabeth said...

So sad.

It's survival of the fittest, perhaps but when a fox takes your beloved chooks, it doesn't help to rationalise. I'm not surprised you'd think twice about replacements.

We lost a rabbit to foxes many years ago, and that in the inner suburbs.

I'm sorry to hear.

Kerryn Goldsworthy said...

Oh, poor chooks! I'm very, very sorry. But you gave them a lovely life.

jac said...

Oh, I'm sorry. They looked such happy chooks. My condolences.

Ann ODyne said...

there are plenty of foxes in the suburbs, especially they love golfcourses.
They never actually consume the poultry they murder.
Enclosures need to be enclosed - the chickenwire has to cover over the top as well.
Much empathy and sympathy for your trauma and get the cats IN at night - the fox is still around.

This old world is a new world said...

What Ann said...

At Ceres it's the worst thing you can do in the chook-group: not lock them up properly at night (or let them out too early: as it's often early morning when foxes attack). A fox can go through a whole flock in exactly the manner you describe.

Much sympathy: chooks are such wonderful critters, aren't they?

Mindy said...

So sorry to hear this. There has been a bit of an explosion in the fox population and this has been
happening a lot. Doesn't make it any easier though.

Terri, Bindi and No.3 had a good life with you, now I am confident that they are with Madge, Beryl and Sarah Jenny in a lovely big paddock somewhere with lots of grass and juicy bugs.

librarygirl said...

So sorry to read about your chooks.
Sad and horrible for you.

Helen said...

So sorry to hear this, Laura. Poor ladies.

Alexis, Baron von Harlot said...

I'm still sad for you and them. Poor girls.

Went to Lalor today (oh yes) and saw through someone's garden gate a red hen in the company of a spaniel. They were sitting together very amicably watching the world go by. It was like some kind of lion-lying-down-with-the-lamb prophecy.

Drewzel said...

I'm so sorry to hear that. I had the same thing happen with my Muscovy ducks a few years back.
hugs for you x

Elsewhere007 said...

So sorry to hear your terrible news! Such things are always quietly devastating.

Max R and M B said...

Late to catch up on your bad fox news, L&D.
Commiserations from both of us, M&M.
(Our friends in Portarlington, Alison and Brendan, had chooks and a dog. Dog became a chook-killer.
Now they just have the dog and a lingering sadness.)

best to all survivors from Max and M

Liliana said...

I'm sorry about this. It must have been an awful thing to see. Your poor little chooks. I hope you are okay.