It’s the circle of life.
Times have been hard for the wildlife where I live. The sub-zero temperatures overnight have caused many animals to venture further afield and make greater efforts to feed themselves and their families.
I have certainly been trying to make sure the bird feeders are fully stocked for our feathered friends.
However, an incident recently has reminded me of the truth of the natural world.
I have told you about my hen-sitting escapades in the past, and I had the pleasure of looking after the girlies again while their owners were away.
Due to avian flu, they have to stay in their enclosure, so I just needed to check on them in the morning, making sure they had food and water. I also take them a treat. Some little gem lettuces, corn on the cob, and 1 day they had Mr Kipling angel slices!
Everything went fine to begin with, but one day when I went in, the door to their hen house had not opened properly. I went over and opened it up, but only 5 hens came out, not 8!
I took the lid off the hen house and it was empty. I then saw some feathers on the floor and following the trail to the back of the enclosure, discovered a hole in the fencing. I went out and round the back of the enclosure and found what was left of one of the hens.
I knew a fox had tried to get in before, but its attempt this time was more successful. I felt so bad about the situation, especially telling their owners what had happened, but it had been so cold their normal food sources were scarce so they had to look for alternatives.
I did wonder if there was something I could have done to prevent this but knew it was not my fault. In fact, when I did text their owners, they said how bad they felt that I’d had to deal with this!
When they returned they reinstated the electric fence which should mean no more incidents like this.
I have to remind myself that this is the way that animals live and this plays out every day in the wild. It has made me appreciate the resilience and ingenuity of all the animals and birds that live around me.