Old Nelly Farms Wild Kingdom

Pardon the second post of the day (and its graphic nature), but I had to share what we caught on the trail cam...

We are losing chickens right and left. During the day and at night, the hens and the broilers are disappearing. Not quite vanishing, as we are left with evidence if their disappearance in the form of feathers, and various other chicken parts. It reached a boiling point when the predator managed to steal three chickens during the day, while dad was nearby working in the vineyard. Let's just say the scene was so gruesome and heartbreaking dad skipped dinner that night because he just couldn't stomach eating.

Although we know we have been losing chickens, our attempt at live trapping has only resulted in catching all three of our cats, one of them twice. Our trapping attempt was a failure once again, but we had all of our suspicions confirmed this morning when we checked our trail cam footage. (Never mind the date on the picture, it is not set correctly) We are clearly dealing with more than one predator. The first three pictures are of our resident bobcat, who we assume is our daytime (and perhaps nighttime) predator. The final picture is of our nighttime predator, the raccoon.

While it is fascinating to catch them on tape, the fact remains that they are eating our livestock. This is sad for two major reasons. The first of course, is the plight of our animals. I know bobcats and raccoons need to eat also, but I wish they would eat something we were less attached to, like wild rabbits or even wild turkeys. In recent weeks they have halved our hen and broiler population, gotten two of our pet turkeys, and a guinea. I must admit, I take it a little harder when my laying hens and pet birds get eaten.

I know it seems strange that I would be sad about the animals eating some of the poultry we raise to slaughter and eat, which brings me to the second issue I take with this predation. And that is the fact that I am raising these animals for my family and customers, and not so much for the wildlife that we share this land with. It is labor intensive and costly to raise these birds and getting them swiped by something that will survive just as well on wild game makes it hard not to take personally.

However, we have to take action. I will confess we threw around the more inhumane ways of taking care of this problem. We of course, dismissed these as they are not only illegal, but also go against what we believe in. But we must figure out a plan to save the chickens we have, especially before we get replacements. So far we have decided to lock in our laying hens at the house immediately after they go in at night. As for our broilers, they will have to give up life in the vineyard for a chicken run with a roof and a predator-proof nighttime shelter. We are also in the market for a bobcat chasing, chicken loving dog. Lucy, may she rest in peace, loved the chickens to death more than once, and Kasha is a little too old to snap at anything but flies. I would consider a llama if I didn't think it would eat everything in sight.

Between the cabbage moths systematically eating our brassicas, and the bobcat and raccoons doing the same to our chickens, it is hard living the organic lifestyle. The up side is that we got free Chipotle after market on Saturday...I am glad someone recognizes the hard work we put in...even if it is not the bobcat.