Hmm...a sad day in our house. After keeping my quail cosy and snug through the worst of the weather, a fox broke through the greenhouse overnight and killed at least one of my birds and fingers crossed, the rest escaped. No bodies, but some wing feathers with flesh attached. I know it is the great circle of life, but still, my poor girls. Mark and I have assessed the damage, several broken panes of glass, and we are going to clean the house out tomorrow, disinfect it all, make good repairs, and try to fox proof the house. Then we have located a breeder who will give/sell us some eggs for our incubator, and we will start the process again. Grr at nature.
I hope it was only one of your quail the fox took EJ. They can cause such devestation when they get into a coop. I know a farmer here who had chickens and when a fox decided to get himself an easy meal he killed dozens of the birds leaving their bodies scattered around. More chickens died in the following days - probably from shock. He didn't have the heart to keep birds after that and gave the survivors away.
Oh Noooo.... What a shame, Emma. Well, good luck with getting your set-up fox-proof. Such a shame. Do you think that any quail that might have survived will survive the remainder of the winter? What a shame.
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of you little birds. I know you put a lot of heart into rearing them.
We have been keeping an eye out and have spoken to all the neighbours in case some turn up, but I think it is unlikely. They are very good fliers and as they were captive bred, I don't suppose they have a clue where home is. Sjoerd, I hope they can survive. We are surrounded by countryside which will provide them with good cover and plenty of food, but also more foxes. Who knows, I only hope that tomorrow when I wander up there to empty everything out and clean it (couldn't face that today), that they are all sitting there waiting for me to give them a head of lettuce and have a chat.
Well Emma, if you keep putting food down some that have escaped may return to what is known as a known food source. Lotsa fingers crossed here.
I hope you find some of them too. Our neighbor just got more chickens from her cousin. But, dogs running loose got hers. Some of the dogs were her own. It,s still sad to lose something you raise and keep fed and cared for. dooley
Sorry to read about the disaster!,lets hope the others escaped and will survive,or even better return to you as the food source,knock on wood.
I was so sorry to read about your loss. I have followed your postings regarding your quail and know it must have been heartbreaking to deal with this attack. I hope the others did escape and, if so, find their way back.
What a disaster!! Keeping my fingers crossed too fo good news tomorrow ...... those poor little birdies.
Any signs of your quail today EJ? I'm hoping that at least some of them have returned to their avairy and are safe and well.
That is why we gave up keeping quail. They escaped in a similar fashion and disappeared. Same with the ducks, though we can still hear call ducks on the lake. Hope your Quail turn up.
