MAD AS HELL!

Checked the chickens in the morning, all was fine, gave them their treats, cleaned up their poo etc. etc.

Came home to find a headless chicken. RIP little Ash.


So ULTRA PISSED OFF at the moment!

Whatever came in, managed to get over a 2m high weldmesh fence.

What really pisses me off is that it made a kill, ripped the head off and left. It didn't even take the body! Why did it kill when it was not hungry? And during the day! It was a bright sunny day!

We suspect it was a fox, but it could be a cat too.

The kill site, bit of bone were seen here too, so it was something with teeth that ripped off her head. Ash's body was found in the far corner, so it looked like it was taken to a corner, but it couldn't take it over the fence?

 Our next steps are to:
- fortify the fence, making it higher and making it floppy at the top
- getting a trap, if it is a fox or a cat, I'm hoping to catch it
- working out a way to cover the roof of the run. As you have seen, the run is pretty big so that's no easy task

The rest of the chickens were found cowering inside the coop, which is the opposite end to where we found Ash. Goldilocks, Ash's sister, was particularly terrified and refused to come out.

The rest of this post is an ode to Ash. She died in a terrible way, but I also feel really bad for her sister Goldilocks, who has now lost her companion. All the chickens must by absolutely traumatised by this ordeal and I feel bad for not making their area secure enough.

Ash being cheeky

The day we got Ash and Goldilocks, she definitely showed her personality! When they were introduced to the Leghorn and Maran chicks, Ash showed that she was boss, even though she was the smallest out of all the chicks!

She bossed the bigger Leghorns around and made sure she got plenty of food

She was named Ash, because she had some grey fluff. Check out those fluffy butts and feathered legs.

She was always with Goldilocks and one of them would start to cry if they couldn't find the other. 

The the predator got into this run with 2m high fencing. So I don't know if a hawk or eagle would hunt here since there are quite a few tall trees around, but I would have thought they would have taken the carcass away.

The fence is dug into the ground, so it didn't get in under the fence. It either climbed or flew over the fence.

Dear Ash, I hope you are resting in peace. I'm so sorry I let this happen to you.

XXX