tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023803000478958088.post5753201177217828900..comments2023-10-19T05:34:19.425-04:00Comments on Little House in the Big Wood: Chick ChoicesWendyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557512606416161272noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023803000478958088.post-4388770024258461812011-04-20T17:04:31.032-04:002011-04-20T17:04:31.032-04:00Foxes can climb, dig, crawl under, and jump over 8...<b>Foxes can climb, dig, crawl under, and jump over 8 feet high. About the only way to fox proof the chicken yard is to put them in a dog kennel type run, with a top and a bottom. That might work for a few hens, but not for a large number. That's one reason why industrial farmers tend to raise them indoors. <br /><br />We used to free range, and you have to expect some losses, but it was ridiculous here. Well over half our flock. Since we live in the woods, we are in a battle zone. There are two scenarios to watch for. One is when there isn't enough food, hungry animals will be more brazen. That can be caused by a reduction in their natural prey- other predators, hard winters, dry summers, forest fires. The other situation- what we're dealing with, is the path of least resistance. Kind of like humans stopping for fast food on the way home because we're too lazy to cook, the foxes will happily stop by my farm for dinner as long as it's easier than hunting other prey. So we have dogs. And fences. Overnight sealed shelters. We're working on it. <br /><br />Swapping would be good if we weren't so far apart! :-)</b>Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11557512606416161272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023803000478958088.post-89788796354722351362011-03-31T13:36:14.870-04:002011-03-31T13:36:14.870-04:00Don't the dogs understand the dilemma? That wo...Don't the dogs understand the dilemma? That would really make me angry, losing birds to foxes! What kind of fence keeps them out? Of course, these raccoons can go over and under. Someone said there are foxes here in the city, so I need to prepare to keep foxes out. I love the breast and cannot stand the leg and thigh. If we could only swap....Practical Parsimonyhttp://www.practical-parsimony.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com