I have previously written about encouraging wildlife onto the homestead and working with nature, but where do you draw the line? what do you do when nature and homesteading collide ?
My passion and my income comes mostly from my hens. A couple of years ago 'nature' in my mind overstepped the mark when a fox attacked and killed most of my hens. It was a daylight attack and so the birds were free ranging a large but fenced grass paddock. The fact that it was fenced I think is relevant as the birds were unable to escape.
The attack happened between 3.30pm and 5 p.m one May afternoon, during the rest of the day there was someone at the yard the whole time.
May is cub season, the cubs are generally born in February, by May they are weaned and the parents are hunting both day and night to feed their fast growing, forever hungry young.
The devastation the fox caused was heart breaking. They will kill as many birds as they can in one attack. They then will either bury the birds or place them in a pile returning to collect them when required.
Photo:
The fox den where the parent foxes returned with hens to feed their cubs
We decided our only solution was to reinforce the fencing , making it even higher than the original 6 ft and hot wiring it.
Foxes are opportunists and since we have made life difficult for them they haven't returned although they are still in the area and will take advantage again if we let our guard down.
Video clip:
A large dog fox out in daylight in the front field.Ignoring the wild geese - looking for easier pickings.
