It was a very sad day today. We lost our lovely hens - all eight of them - to a hungry fox. The hens had proven to be such worthy companions and the children have learned so much from caring for them and I have to say that the hens appeared to be equally fond of the children.
Or sadness was heightened when we discovered that the hens had left us a lovely clutch of eggs. They started laying only a day after they came to live at Wicor and settled in beautifully and have provided eggs and company ever since. They were a hale and hearty bunch, so it came as a shock to discover our tragic loss this morning.
It was difficult to see just how the fox got in. There were no holes under the fence, although the fox clearly tried to dig in - our defences were good. There was no sign of it climbing over. This was a mystery, only finally solved with the use of our CCTV recordings. The fox climbed up the close mesh and managed to squeeze through the larger mesh. We would not have believed it had we not seen it happen on film.
The hens have been such a fantastic learning resource and the children have cared for them well. We will certainly get more hens but first to improve the mesh. At least we know what we need to do.
We talk to the children about predators and prey and the circle of life but it is only when something like this happens that the message is really brought home.
