Fox in the hen house.

Last night or early this morning there was a fox in the big chicken coop. It appeared to have taken one of our black hens and injured the rooster pretty badly. Sad. So Richard processed the rooster for the freezer. That rooster was protecting his flock, doing his job, and we appreciate him for it. But it was his time.

And on October 12, Richard will be holding a chicken processing workshop here at the farm. The rooster was on the list for that class anyway. He had been getting unpredictable and was not past attacking me when I went to collect eggs. Some of our hens are well past prime laying age and they all seem to be pecking each other pretty badly in the big coop. They are older birds, some of which came down with us when we moved from our homestead in Rockvale, Colorado a couple of years ago. It is time to cull the flock.

The class will teach anyone interested how to process chickens for the freezer or stew pot. It's that time of year to stock up the freezer. We will have the live birds here and students can purchase birds to process and take home with them after the class. The workshop will run from 10 am to about 3pm, depending on how things move along. The suggested donation fee for the class is $40 per student, but no one will be turned away. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail Richard to register and get more details. Bring a cooler and ice if you plan on taking processed birds home with you. Also,it might be a good idea to wear old clothes, and maybe bring a change of clothes with you.

As a result of last night's chicken thievery, Richard spent this morning fortifying the old coop. He dug a trench around the coop and put chicken wire in the ground and up the sides of the coop. The fox is a digger. Hopefully the wire will keep the fox and any other predators out.

Chicken wire around the coop.

Chicken wire in trench around coop.

Back fill over wire, in trench, around coop.