I knew we would be working outside all day so I thought it was safe to let the chickens have a little free range time. While Dean was working outside, I was working in the soap shop. I heard a commotion outside and went to check on the chickens and realized the we had lost our rooster to the fox. Our new livestock guardian dog was still not quite 5 months old and would not really deter predators until she was much older. For some reason, I didn’t think the fox would be back that day. Boy was I wrong, the next time I heard a ruckus I realized 2 more birds were gone. This time I herded all the remaining girls into the safety of the coop. I feel horrible that I let my chickens down, especially the rooster. He wasn’t friendly but he never bothered anyone, which is what I want in a rooster.
I soon started looking to replace our rooster and my daughter in law found one that needed rehoming from a family in the suburbs. We are still working on integrating him into the flock. We hope he will fit in even though he is twice the size of our chickens.