A Place for the Survival of the Fittest

A HUNGRY fox, in quest of prey,

Into an out-house found his way.
When looking round with skilful search,
He ‘spied a hen upon a perch.

Thought Reynard, “What’s the reason why
They place her on a roost so high?
I know not what the use can be,
Unless it’s out of spite to me.”

As thus he thought, the hen awoke,
When thus to her sly Reynard spoke.

“Dear madam, I’m concern’d to hear,
You’ve been unwell for half a year;
I could not quell my strong desire
After your welfare to inquire;
But pray come down and take the air;
You’ll ne’er get well while sitting there;
I’m sure it will not hurt your cough,
—Do give me leave to help you off.”

“I thank you, sir,” the hen replied,
“I’d rather on my roost abide;
‘Tis true enough I’ve been unwell,
And am so now, the truth to tell;
And am so nervous, you must know,
I dare not trust myself below,
And therefore say to those who call,
I see no company at all;
For from my perch should I descend,
I’m certain in my death ‘twould end;
As then, I know, without presumption,
My cough would end in a consumption.”

---

Thus cunning people often find
Their crafty overtures declined
By prudent people, whom they thought,
For want of wit, would soon be caught.

-Jeffreys Taylor

Last week, the Junk Road fox found and exploited the henhouse at Merry Mount.

Our story begins during the early winter of 2017 when the hens temporarily stopped laying eggs.  Since they had lain throughout the winters of 2014 and 2015, we thought they had finished laying.  Were we ready to take them (Edith, Eloise, Beulah, Gilda, Wilma, and Wanda) off to have them slaughtered?  No!  Since we did not have the heart or stomach to have them in chicken soup, we decided to free them from the confines and protection of the chicken run, and give them free range. We would allow them to roam and let Mother Nature take her course.

The hens seemed delighted and they wondered over the property gleefully foraging for bugs and worms.  Low and behold, they also began to lay more eggs.

In early Spring, our dear neighbors, the Junks, began to notice a mother fox and two cubs appearing in early morning near their deck.  Indeed, it was determined that the foxes had taken residence there.

Photo taken by the Junks

On at least two occasions, I watched the mother fox from afar as she approached the Junk’s house.

Dave Junk, knowing our chickens had been given free range, inquired as to the state of our chickens (no doubt, his way of warning us of the danger).  We responded, “we haven’t noticed a problem.”

One evening, in late winter, Rett heard a noise outside on the patio, and after turning on the back light, was surprised to see a fox calmly sitting watching Mooch, the barn cat, sitting on the rail, looking down at the fox.  The fox nonchalantly moseyed away.

Last week, while having hors d’oeuvres with our guests, Lee & Robert, we were aghast to notice one of our hens wrestling to remove itself from the mouth of the fox!

Like lightning, we grabbed the BB gun and chased the fox away.  After surveying the damage, we discovered that we had lost three of the six hens.  Mother Nature had taken her course, but three hens had survived.

Am I safe now?

We knew the fox would return, so we confined the surviving hens to the chicken run.  Sure enough, the next day, the fox returned, but Rett was ready with the shotgun to send the fox on its way.

Live and learn.  We have experienced that Merry Mount is a place for the survival of the fittest.

Be well and survive.

CPW

CPW