Defensive Positions


At 8am I was on the phone with my father-in- law. He was wishing me a very happy birthday, which confused me slightly as my birthday is not until tomorrow .
Anyhow I had just put down the receiver when an unholy noise coming from the Ukrainian village , made me bolt through the front door and across the lane. Shrieking hens and honking geese mean just one thing.......a fox.
The fox was huge, the biggest one I have ever seen close up, and he whirled around in a flash of red as the field animals took up joint defensive positions up towards the safety of the field gate. In front of him stood the Ewes, with their heads held up defiantly, both were stamping their feet angrily on the ground. The geese were positioned behind them, honking in unison as the much smaller and vulnerable hens  flapped their way to safety ontop of the Church wall and hen house roofs.  
It was teamwork at its very best.
The fox turned as I arrived and was gone in a second.
It's been years since the last daytime attack.
Winnie and George are now watching over the field animals and all now is quiet.

50 comments:

  1. For fox sake, your animals outfoxed the fox!

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    2. I like that .. I am going to start saying that ... For Fox Sake !!
      They think I "talk funny" down here in the South, anyway ..

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  2. And the fox hasn't stopped running yet! He bit off more than he could chew taking on your menagerie!!

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  3. lawdy, who needs all THAT commotion! but good for the animals banding together to protect themselves!

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  4. Happy Birthday for tomorrow. And yay for the animals protecting themselves and each other.

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  5. I doubt the other animals alone could have outwitted the fox. It was probably the sight and sound of you bolting across the lane that scared him away! Foxes seem to be as common as cats in my suburban street and for that reason I would never keep hens again. Sorry for the negative vibe but it is cold, wet and windy here and much more like February than May!

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  6. B***** Foxes. And I see you have sunshine which makes me very envious as we have grey,rain, wind and freezing cold.

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  7. Anonymous10:50 am

    That is quite fascinating. Do you think it was the animals who repelled the fox, or your arrival?

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  8. Outnumbered I think. I love that photo of your menagerie.

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  9. Truth be told, I would have run away from your angry geese, too!! -Jenn

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  10. Geese and ewes? A scary proposition, indeed.

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  11. Lets hope he stays away. I will be out of town tomorrow so a very happy birthday in case I can't get to you. Enjoy the day!

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  12. A victory in the Ukrainian Village. The good guys won.

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  13. From one old fox to another - have a fantastic birthday!!!

    And I'm glad the geese are safe and have nothing worse than ruffled feathers.

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  14. Great teamwork in your Ukranian Village!

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  15. Churchill would have been proud of them; a VC all round.

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  16. It seems the fox had no idea what he was in for. Our fox are so small; perhaps as big as your Welsh terriers.

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  17. You can onlY hope that the fox will learn to steer clear, but if not, there are waYs to repel them with scent - male urine being supposedlY the best. (I'd suggest filling a bottle and distributing it round the most vulnerable areas rather that "applYing it fresh", so to speak.

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  18. Move on, Mr. Fox! No easy pickings at John Gray's field!

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  19. Wow! See, to me, a fox is just a cute animal that wanders through our garden at night and raids garbage bins. I don't think of it in terms of a livestock predator.

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  20. The picture conjured in my mind is positively 'Disneyesque'. Well done all concerned.

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  21. happy happy birthday! cheeky fox coming around so early!

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  22. Happy birthday John.
    One crafty fox that - you'll have to watch him as he will probably have babies to feed.
    My broadband is finally up and running again. Yippee!

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  23. Goodness, what a drama! Your heart must have been pounding. Thank s be that your animals rallied to protect each other. Maybe the fox will think twice before coming 'round again. A very Happy Birthday to you.

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  24. would Winnie and George attack a fox?

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    1. George would, if he saw one

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    2. I think George would.
      My Scotties doubled teamed a coyote once. They stood their ground.
      Mr. Coyote took off fast.

      cheers, parsnip

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  25. My heart would have been pounding so hard !
    What a fright and what a sight ! to see the animals taking care of business. I would worry about Winnie and George too .. you know how pups are, they don't see anything as being dangerous or bigger than they are ..
    Happy Birthday John !!!

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  26. All should be well with the incomparable George and Winnie in charge !

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  27. Oh heck! As long as no lives were lost on either side of the confrontation, though I fear that might just be putting off Nature's cruelties.

    And have a joyous day tomorrow, for which heart congrats. But I'm sure we'll see you then as well?

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  28. Teamwork at it's best, animal, bird and human. Well done to all of you. Thank goodness you have the geese, they do make the most noise.

    I used to find that a radio playing out loud during the day kept the foxes away, you have to have a channel with lots of talking. Mind you your neighbours might object to Jeremy Vine chattering away to all and sundry about the latest news to hit the headlines, at least when I did it we lived in the middle of nowhere ;-)

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  29. It's good the animals know how to hold a united front! Geese are good for that.

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  30. P lost all his chickens to the fox two nights ago.

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  31. Oh Rachel how awful ! :(

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  32. Team work at it's best, lovely photo, also Rachel sorry to hear about your chickens ah a country life has it's ups and downs but I would gladly move to Trelawnyd.

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  33. What a team, mind you I would have been running for the hills faced with a chicken let alone hissing geese. I hope Mr Raynard took the hint and gives your menagerie a wide berth.

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  34. Do you think the fox learned its lesson from this combined front?

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  35. When you least expect it, he'll return. He'll bide his time and pounce, the bastard. Happy Birthday.

    Love,
    Janie

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  36. I fear this is just the first chapter. Good that everyone is safe for now, though, and I find it amazing that all your animals worked together to scare off the fox. Early Happy Birthday, you youngster you.

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  37. That's a big NUMERO UNO for the Ukrainian Village team and a ZERO for the fox. I like those numbers!

    Woohoo! Way to go Ukrainian Village team.

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  38. Happy birthday John, my son's birthday too.

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  39. Happy birthday John, it must be Wednesday where you are, it is still Tuesday evening for me although past midnight.
    Hope there is cake involved have a good one.

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  40. Happy Birthday John. I hope the rain stops for you…or perhaps you haven't had it for the last 2 days? X

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  41. please tell me you were dressed when you went to chase the fox...you weren't in your birthday suit were you?

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  42. Brilliant team work x

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