One of my favourite things to do is sit on the back deck and watch the chickens free-ranging in the yard. For the most part, they stay in our yard; on occasion, they will cross the road to peck around under the neighbours’ tree (answering that age-old question!). 

In the spring of 2019, I had only 4 Welsummer girls. Welsummers are developed in Holland and lay beautiful dark terracotta-coloured eggs. My ‘Golden Girls’, just a little flock, having lost all of my Red Sexlink and Barred Rock gals to a weasel the previous fall/winter. 

I’d let the girls out every morning; they would spend the day foraging. Then I’d meet them back in the coop at night to put them to bed; I’d do a quick headcount and say good night. 

One afternoon, I went out to say a quick hello to the gals and noticed one was missing. Rose was nowhere! I spent the next hour walking around the property looking for her and lecturing myself for naming a chicken (it’s inevitable when I give a chicken a handle, it dies, that’s just the way it is for me). Rose was gone. 

The following morning, having already opened the chickens for the day, I was getting ready for work when all of a sudden I heard Dan yell. 

“There’s a fox in the back yard!”. 

Quick as a whip, we both ran outside to the coop, me in my housecoat, wet hair and all. There it was in all its glory, chicken in mouth, staring us down. I start to make a noise like a crazy person, half-dressed, flailing my arms high above my head. I screamed an octave I didn’t know I could hit! Scaring the daylights out of the fox, he dropped the chicken and ran away, and the chicken came running back to us!

I do a quick headcount, only two chickens! I do a thorough check of the chicken the fox had, thankfully not one feather out of place. It’s just shaken up – we have a good cuddle. Then the events hit me. I start to weep (for the other chicken we lost that morning). I’m immediately heartbroken. It’s my job to keep these girls safe. I’ve failed miserably. 

All of a sudden, my third chicken comes screaming/blazing from the garage area! She was mad as a hatter. HAZZAH! She was smart enough to escape the mornings’ events! I’m ecstatic at this point. Janet-3, Fox-1.

Since 2019, I’ve lost four chickens to the fox(es). Two pullets in 2020! Mr. Fox has a family now, permanent residents in our neighbourhood (we’ve ramped up security, no more unsupervised free-ranging and better fencing). We see them from time-to-time cruising around the yard. They genuinely are beautiful creatures – as long as they stay away from my girls! (nobody needs to see this angry mother hen flailing about in the yard again, haha).