Weasel vs. Momma Hen
A couple of years ago while tilling an area for fall planting; Bob noticed a movement in the grass at the fence line. There is only one thing more boring than mowing grass, and that is tilling the soil at a blazing 1 mph (about 4.5 hours to an acre) carefully moving between the lily rows. There is lots of time for meditation at that speed, but that day a weasel was making his move on the chicken house. This little guy was like the sneaky weasel from the old cartoons but twice as cute.
Our fence posts are 8 feet apart. He would dash to a post and stop, carefully look around one side of the post and then peek around the other side to see if any chickens were watching. With the coast clear, it was dash to the next post and repeat, searching for watchful eyes. Finally, he makes his way to the hen house but couldn't find a way in. All this time, Bob was sitting on the tractor - now in neutral, idling – and watching a real life cartoon.
You could almost see his little ears perk up when a lone, week old chick appeared around the corner, having strayed from “the flock”. Rather than make a dash for the chick, only the weasel’s little toes appear to be moving as he slowly crept forward, hunkered down as close to the ground as he can get, eyes locked and focused on the little chick. Bob thought, “I need to rescue that chick before he’s eaten!” But before he could act, Momma Hen came around the corner to gather up her stray and the spooked weasel literally folded himself in half to retreat - with an angry chicken clucking and flapping in hot pursuit. Mr. Weasel no longer even considered stopping at each fence post to check his surroundings –this was an all-out run for the cover of brush and safety – yes, he made it – yes, we securely lock up our chickens, turkeys and ducks at night. Geese are vigilant all night, taking turns staying awake and honking danger loudly, so although they are behind a 6 foot fence in an open shelter, they are less likely to be bothered.
Read Entire Article in our Blog: Eagles, Quail, Weasel, and Mr. Bobcat
Our fence posts are 8 feet apart. He would dash to a post and stop, carefully look around one side of the post and then peek around the other side to see if any chickens were watching. With the coast clear, it was dash to the next post and repeat, searching for watchful eyes. Finally, he makes his way to the hen house but couldn't find a way in. All this time, Bob was sitting on the tractor - now in neutral, idling – and watching a real life cartoon.
You could almost see his little ears perk up when a lone, week old chick appeared around the corner, having strayed from “the flock”. Rather than make a dash for the chick, only the weasel’s little toes appear to be moving as he slowly crept forward, hunkered down as close to the ground as he can get, eyes locked and focused on the little chick. Bob thought, “I need to rescue that chick before he’s eaten!” But before he could act, Momma Hen came around the corner to gather up her stray and the spooked weasel literally folded himself in half to retreat - with an angry chicken clucking and flapping in hot pursuit. Mr. Weasel no longer even considered stopping at each fence post to check his surroundings –this was an all-out run for the cover of brush and safety – yes, he made it – yes, we securely lock up our chickens, turkeys and ducks at night. Geese are vigilant all night, taking turns staying awake and honking danger loudly, so although they are behind a 6 foot fence in an open shelter, they are less likely to be bothered.
Read Entire Article in our Blog: Eagles, Quail, Weasel, and Mr. Bobcat
