Sombre

We lost Lexie today. In 12 years of keeping chooks we had never lost one to a fox, despite the density here. Sadly that ended this morning. Managed to chase him off, but she was too badly injured, and died as I was getting the other girls back into the run.

The last three weeks or so I guess fate had been tempted. I've been up at 6.30am every day to listen out for noise, as the old girls, especially Freya, were taking a long time to adjust to the newcomers. Most days, by 7 ish, I was out in the garden with them. Camera traps spotted the foxes during the night, but none at all in daylight. But this one came over the wall from next door at just the exact spot Lexie was pecking about, and in an instant that was it.

Lexie, you were a pain in the arse of a chicken, and we came ridiculously close to having to move you to a countryside retreat a couple of times. But you didn't deserve that this morning. I'll miss the scruffy wee thing that was my choice the day we got you - the small, sparky chook who got to the top of the pecking order.


I'm posting this almost a week since it happened, and still feel cut up about it....