Sad News

Friends of mine have a small holding just out of town, they have the usual, chickens, geese, ducks, pigs, sheep, a pony and an alpaca (? Sp), well He phoned me last night to let me know they were packing up and selling ever thing, I am really gutted for them, they have worked so hard to get it up and running, the main trouble they have had is from the local council, only a month ago we put the plastic on their poly tunnel, they have built fences, planted trees both fruit and others natives.

All that work has now been for nothing, it make my moaning about a fox seem such a little thing.

WELL i have to decide what I am going to do, I have 2 opptions:

1 is to pack up, this will mean selling or giving away the birds and houses I have, and then being bored silly with nothing to do....

or 2, carry on, buy more birds and build stronger fox proof ( ish ) fencing, I have all the materials, its just the labour, at the moment I can do about an hours work before my legs gives me trouble, but I am working so slow nodays, it takes so long to do jobs that i used to in a flash, I do get help from David my brother, but I hate asking, sometimes when i have a little spare money I get Tom ( a friend ) to come and help and pay him for his time, this dont sound much but 1 day of Tom = 1 weeks feed for the chickens...

Any one advise???

The FOX has been again !!!

Mr Fox has apid another visit, this time killing 21 birds, OK i can hear some of you saying why haven't you made your pen " fox proof " well in some ways i would say the same, and yes i can wire in a small enclosure to keep my birds safe, But then they would be back where they came from, BATTERY CAGES !! I want them to be free range and have loads of room to roam around in.. Mr Fox is only doing what his instinct is telling him, in the wild he would come on a flock of birds and kill as many as he can as fast as possible before they flew off, then he would take them away one at a time and hide the carcases for later consumption, the reason i have found so many dead left laid where they were killed is Mr Fox was disturbed, and took fright..I have bought some new birds to replace the resent lost ones, but as some are young and not in lay yet I am feeding them for nothing, it is draining my pockets dry, I had got to the stage where the birds were self sustaining, ie the sale of the eggs paid for their food and the rent of Chickenopolus and some weeks paid for my petrol too, all this expense is coming from my disapearing wallet :(