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Saturday, March 12, 2016

Nature, red in tooth and claw


Our poultry pens are like the Fort Knox of chook pens. Solid wire fences 6 feet high, buried down to a foot and a chicken wire roof. Sometimes it isn't enough. A visit from a quoll last night and we are down one chicken. It could have been worse because they are quite ferocious and will keep killing until there are no survivors. I know this. Hope and I discovered the mayhem while it was still in the pen. Chickens panicked and ducks next door in a state of distress. Still not happy today either and probably for a little while to come. I'm just grateful the damage wasn't greater.

That's nature though. Red in tooth and claw. Sadly there must be ugliness for the beauty to shine so well.
Tracy

10 comments:

Sharm said...

Hi Tracy, So glad to hear you were able to stop the rest of the flock being taken as well!! We don't have the wire netting over our poultry pen at this place and I'm currently having issues with a hawk!!
ps..... the robin finally made it's way back to me the other day so you should see it coming again over the next while :)

Sunnybrook Farm said...

I would do some search and destroy on that little bugger. We have coyotes and coons so I have a steel and oak coop that gets locked every night, the birds seem happy to go in and get up on the roost. If you have access to steel lathing it makes a better defense than chicken wire.

River said...

That's one clever quoll to get into the Fort Knox of chicken pens!
Hope it doesn't happen again, but now that he's found a way in, you're going to have to be extra vigilant :(

Joolz said...

Oh, dear! Lucky it was only one but thats not much consolation.
Nature can be cruel.

kiwikid said...

That is one very naughty quoll!! They look a bit like a Tassie Devil don't they, but a different colour. Do you know how it got in?? Hope all the birds settle soon.

Fiona from Arbordale Farm said...

It is hard to know this happens but you just have to move on and be thankful for other blessings.

Tricky Wolf said...

sorry to hear of your loss, at least it wasn't as bad as the last time, I dearly hope the offender has been eliminated?

Janice said...

How distressing for all involved. You were lucky to have got off so lightly.

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear that Tracy! We had a fox picking off one chicken a night until we increased security. The poor survivors were so stressed. I hope that's the last attack at your place :(

Linda P said...

What a cunning creature to have got in, killed the chicken and caused panic amongst the other birds! Thank goodness it wasn't worse. Hope all is well now and it doesn't happen again this year.