Fox vs Taj Mahal

Photos show Mr. Fox stalking on the outside of our Taj Mahal, and then Mr. Fox on outside left of the Taj as Arriauna and Hecky stand in snow atop the run. [The big black blobs behind the run are a compost bin and sacks of leaves for insulation.]

Mr. Fox has met his match. First he stood on the path between the house and the Taj Mahal hen pen. I was looking down at the action from the kitchen window which is why the photos are taken through 2 window panes and a screen. The hens were in their covered run, backlit with a light bulb, so he could see them easily. I don’t know if he made a noise, like ‘Heh, heh, come here, girls, I’ll give you a cookie”, but those sweethearts came marching out to greet him. Then he began to run around the outer edge of the pen, no doubt chuckling and saying “It won’t be long, my pretties”. They recognized him as the bad guy he is and they began to run. They all made a lap around the pen; hens on the inside, fox on the outside. Arriauna and Hecky flew up onto the run. That really excited Mr. Fox. He ran around to the west outside. He stared at Arriauna for a moment then leaped straight at her. He bounced off the double wire wall. I hope he had a wire imprint on his nose. At this point I intervened before he got too frenzied that he might figure out how to climb over the top.

Chickie Taj Mahal

No longer do we worry about escapee hens OR uninvited deer and foxes. Mr. Fox still has us on his list but he just runs by as he checks out the neighborhood. Word has it he asked Santa for wire cutters. Tom and Camille built this incredible fortress. The corner posts are set deep in the ground. Two opposing walls were made as kennel walls for very tall dogs. The other 2 walls are made of cattle corral wall wire covered with chicken wire. The roof is yet to be complete but will be a continuation of the cattle wire. The base of all walls have an apron of chicken wire, one foot up the wall and one foot out pinned to the ground. This will thwart any predator digging.

The birds and squirrels think it was all built for their perching pleasure. It has already served one squirrel escaping from the cat. The pen was closer than the tree! The hens love it. They can run around, even fly (a bit), in safety. I love the people door. It is very secure, yet easy to get in and out.

Tune in again for how to keep chickens warm, happy and laying in freezing weather.

Deer in the Hen Yard

The photo on the right was taken through the kitchen window screen. The chicken run is covered by brown, green and blue tarps, the eglu is covered by the silver quilted insulation material. One buck and one doe are standing left of the eglu; the other buck is on the right with his white butt showing. Two chickie girls (one red, one black) can be seen in the upper center of photo on right.

The hen scratch made of corn, millet and other grains which I scatter on the ground must have attracted the deer. There was less than a ½ cup of it remaining after the hens pecked at it earlier. Until now the remnants of grain have only interested the squirrels and LBBs and LGBs, (Little Brown Birds and Little Gray Birds).

Queen B sounded her alarm 'sqwaaaak' and I went flying to the kitchen window. Queen B and Arriauna were in the far corner of their yard as three deer stood in the middle of the yard. One doe and 2 bucks were staring at the chickens in puzzlement. In the 3 seconds it took me to get to the backdoor, all the hens were outside the fence leaving the deer to stare at me. The deer were not afraid as I photographed them. I suggested they leave because this was a yard for chickens. Well, OK, they seemed to say as they sauntered to the 3 foot high wire fence. They paused, then turned slightly and leaped over it. In no apparent hurry to go elsewhere, they meandered through the yard, nibbling and sniffing as they went. I looked around to see what the hens were doing…afraid they had run for the hills, but like the sweet shortterm-memory gals they are, they were busy scratching for bugs under a bush, having forgotten why they had jumped the fence. Clinking a dish of Basmati rice with a spoon, brought the girls running back into the deer-free pen and all was back to normal.