Devastation - a fox took our flock

Who is Mrs Bok without her Bok Flock?


Not a question I ever thought I'd need to ask myself.

 

As we were leaving Malaysia, my sister rang to tell me that my flock was missing. She had been collecting eggs daily but yesterday she didn’t find the girls to lock them into the coop, she didn’t find them anywhere at all although it was raining heavily. She thought they’d been stolen and reported their disappearance to the police. To the police!! She thought they'd been stolen. She went out in brighter drier daylight next day to find feathers everywhere...which can only mean one thing…a fox had come during the day and carted off my girls one by one, not a single one left nor any bodies either.

 

Now coming home, I've gone into the garden to see the devastation for myself...I've cried my heart out, I can't believe I don't have the flock racing around after me when I step into the storm ravaged garden.   I was so looking forward to seeing them, to having them greet me, to making their hot porridge and to putting their hot water bottle in with them at night as I locked them into their coop.  I see signs of my cherished hens everywhere - where they've eaten all the rainbow chard especially the yellow and pink but have left the green, where they've dug up all of my carefully planted strawberries and where they've eaten all the salads. But I'd have them eat the entire garden if only they'd return.

 
See where they'd eaten all the tender greens and the yellow chard but left the darker chard? Oh hens I'll never scold you again if only you'd come back :(

We have a 6 ft tall smooth bamboo fence that a hox couldn't scrabble over.  But it's clear Fox Loxy got in by jumping the shorter fence between the neighbour and ourselves and running into the long vegie bed along the driveway.

There are no bodies to be found and my sister didn't find any bodies or blood either - but there are lots of feathers in the garden.

I posted about foxes before over here.


And I still admire foxes - they are wily, cunning, but also creatures that are suffering a bitter winter and need to eat.    Perhaps fat fieldmice and rabbits are scarce in the cold.  I choose to believe that it was a Mrs Fox who came and quickly murdered my hens so they felt no pain and took them home to her little foxlets. I choose not to think that it was a greedy Mr Fox who just took as much as he could.  Oh foxy loxy you are wicked indeed.  I hope you gave my girls a painless and quick exit to chooky heaven.

Lots of broccollini went to flower but lots left to eat

Florence fennel got plump indeed

 

A lone fly in freezing melbourne! How did you survive the frost??

 

Camelias flowered whilst we were away

Who am I without my bok flock? Call I still call myself Mrs Bok?  After all I have no flock to be guardian for any longer  :(  Can you believe I've dyed my hair the darkest shade of black in mourning.  I really love my flock.  I hope they are happy up in chooky heaven.    

Laying eggs in odd places

 Picnics on the lawn

Vale my beautiful Bok Flock we really miss you so much