Fox got into the chickens enclosure

amother

Khaki

Thu, Sep 01 2016, 6:53 pm

So a few nights ago I was asleep and my DH was lying awake on his bed when he heard one of the chickens shrieking in distress. He grabbed his cell (for the flashlight) and ran outside, where he saw a fox attacking the cutest chicken (a colorful brown-egg layer)!

DH chased away the fox and luckily the chicken was unharmed (perhaps with a slight limp). The beast had scrambled over a 6+ foot fence to get inside. We have an electric wire on the top of the fence, but it had been broken for some time and DH didn't bother fixing it as we didn't think a fox could get in. Now it's been fixed, so hopefully the chickens are safe.

Interestingly, there is a halacha that if a fox (and other predatory animals) attacks an animal with its claws, the animal becomes traif. However the rule of thumb is that traif animals cannot procreate, so if an animal that is safek traif has a baby (in the case of chickens if it lays an egg), it's a sign the animal isn't traif.

DH asked a shaila and he now has to wait 21 days (the length of time it takes for an egg to become developed from scratch), and if the chickens still lay eggs they are considered to be kosher. Until then we can't consume the eggs they lay, and we must put them aside until after the probation period. With 3-5 eggs per day it quickly adds up...

yaeliq

Thu, Sep 01 2016, 7:40 pm

Kids got up Shavuos morning and went out to feed the chickens, only to find piles of feathers as far as the eye could see. Totally traumatized them.

We waited about a year to replace them, and darned if that fox didn't find it's way back! One of my boys heard frenzied squawking, and went out to find one dead chicken and the fox with another. Maybe 9 in the morning, broad daylight! He scared the fox away and started digging a hole for the dead chicken. The determined fox returned, and my son chased it away with a shovel. We called a friend over who is a shochet and he checked the hen and said she would live. He would have euthanized her otherwise. Never thought to ask a shailah about whether we could eat her eggs, tho!!

We now have a new addition to the menagerie, to protect the flock: a Great Pyrenees. we are not your typical chassidim, but there you have it.

Glad your girls are ok!