Life and Death in the Chicken House

This time it was a mink. Although renowned as having a penchant for chicken, we’Äôve only ever been cursed with one previous visitation, and that was long ago. In the interim, our chicken house has been unhappily visited by an eagle, several red tailed hawks, three times by cougars, more recently a goshawk, a bear (what a mess!), and maybe a raccoon. Except for one cougar, the chickens always lost.

We often see mink running among the rocks along the beach, and we’Äôve assumed they were so well fed on clams and beach critters that they didn’Äôt favour poultry. Wrong! Although it seems like this was more of a killing spree than a dinner party: dead chickens lying here and there and three mournful survivors huddled in a corner when we arrived on the morning scene. So it goes.

When the cougar hung around and ate chickens and became a frightening nuisance, it died for it’Äôs hunger. We then promised ourselves we would not allow our husbandry to impact the wild animals ’Äì if we aren’Äôt able to contain our livestock (chickens) so they are not an attractive nuisance, then we should live without the luxury of fresh eggs! And we are now again faced with the dilemma of our conscience. But it’Äôs only a little mink, we can trap it and find a new home on some other island.

Or is this a right to life issue? (Never mind the poor helpless chickens?) These are small ponderings in the bigger scheme of things. Animals are killed all the time for various reasons, ’Äòjustifiable’Äô is in the mind of the beneficiary or the stronger. That’Äôs survival of the fittest. Or animal husbandry. Or human domination.

And we are part of the human invasion: where places that were the domain of wild animals are no longer theirs, where we humans want ’Äòsafety and security’Äô from all kinds of pests. It’Äôs kind of about whether we should even be here, oughtn’Äôt we cram our human selves into urban settings and leave the wild places wild for the wild animals? Will we humans leave any wilderness if we have time to ’Äòresource’Äô it before we destroy the planet?

Well, it was only a little mink. We’Äôll fortify the chicken house. We’Äôll give the mink a new home. We’Äôll buy some more chickens from Henry at Blue Jay Lake Farm. And we’Äôll try harder to live in harmony’Ķ but it’Äôs not natural! Just that the eggs are so good.