Working the chicken yard.
When we first moved to Rockfield, Ky we weren’t very familiar with the huge host of predators that were lurking in the woods, above and below the trees, who assumed we brought the chickens to Rockfield for evening upon evening of entrees. After losing several chickens in a one week period we decided to move one of the dogs from the sheep into the chicken yard.
I remember what a tough decision it was since Niamh (pronounced Neeve) was still a young pup and we weren’t too sure if she could fend off all the coyotes we heard howling in the night. Thankfully, Niamh lived up to our expectations and Abe found his inner chicken and is as happy as a clam with the girls.
In this photo the chickens are scratching up the new raspberry and strawberry patch and Abraham is diligently watching over the workers. Actually, this picture is a bit deceptive. Abe will sleep all day and stay up all night to keep the girls safe while they slumber.
Even while he snoozes, if any bird larger than the size of a sparrow should dare to enter the River Cottage Farm No Fly Zone, Abe will know about it and so will the whole farm. We haven’t lost a single hen to predators since he was moved into the chicken yard.