Another fox…..no, it’s an eagle!

We seem to be having a run of death and destruction.

It has happened from time to time….and now it is time again! THIS week we have lost two more animals…..to a Wedge-tailed Eagle!

One day we came home to a stripped duck carcass, and decided it was not like a fox attack….maybe it was a cat?? The next day we lost our gorgeous Australorp rooster….but there eating it was a magnificent Wedge-tailed Eagle. Well, what mixed emotions!! How amazing this creature was- huge, majestic…..but also hungry….and eating OUR stock! Needless to say the camera was grabbed, but it was a bit quick for us so the photos are blurry.

Quick photo before it saw us and flew off-eating the rooster!

Watching from a safe distance

Circling overhead- that beautiful wedged tail!

Bushfire!

The challenges of country living continue! In the space of four weeks we left a pump on running the water tank dry (our only source of water)- fortunately the pump wasn’t damaged. The following week was the snake in the house, then the fox attack….and this week a bushfire!

We were awoken around 5.30am with the strong smell of smoke, soon followed by the sound of numerous fire engines. It was obviously close by.

Water bomber in action

The view from the back door at 6.00am

Sunrise through the smoke

Thanks to the Bushfire Brigades! Now hopefully the unsavoury person who lit it (FESA say the cause is ‘suspicious’) will get caught.

Fox Attack!

Yet more death and destruction at McCarthy Park this week……went out to feed the animals one evening, and came face to face with a mangy looking fox actually curled up IN the chook run. It had obviously got in earlier and killed three chooks, but couldn’t get out again.

It is so, so distressing….and annoying, to lose our animals in this way. Foxes tend to just kill for the sake of it rather than for food. This fox was very skinny, and must have been hungry, yet had killed three chooks and just left them.

After much searching, we found a possible entry point – a very small gap under a gate, not at all something we would have thought a fox could fit through. Fortunately all the other animals free ranging at the time were unharmed.

New Arrivals!

Today we bought 7 turkey poults! They are still very young (under 1 week) so are in a small cage with a 100W light globe to keep them warm. We are still building their new enclosure, but it will be ready by the time they are! It just needs to  be made fox proof, as unfortunately they do visit us from time to time, and they cause such destruction in a few moments.

turkey chicks

The chicks are doing well, even the two that were rescued as newly hatched. They were near death, so we put them in the cage with the light and were amazed to see they survived. After a few days they were strong enough to slip back to the mother hen and chicks.