Meg has lost a lot of her feathers but seems good otherwise. Fran may not make it, she has deep bite wounds and seems in shock. We isolated her from the others.  Chickens are not merciful to the sick. Simon came rushing over to see Meg when Maria carried her back into the barn. We are getting more details from our neighbor, who saw much of the fox attack. The chickens came running down the hill, fox and pursuit, and then Simon charged the fox and caused him to stop and hesitate, then run. He circled around and continued after Meg who squeezed under the pasture gate, and rushed across the road towards the tall grass, fox in hot pursuit, grabbing mouthfuls of feathers.

The neighbor was coming down the hill with her husky, who started barking and the fox turned and ran back into the pasture through a different gate. We let Frieda and the other dogs out and they barked furiously, and it seems the fox went away. Chickens are in lock down in the barn. My guess is Toots is out there hiding somewhere, as there is no body visible and the neighbor saw the fox retreat empty-handed. The chickens have freedom to wander around, but I suspect the fox will return, as they usually do. We’ll have to figure it out. I’ve grown attached to Meg, as photographers do when they take photos of a subject. It’s a personal relationship. Maria is very happy that at least two of the chickens are alive, and I’m thinking that all three might be. That is amazing, to have a fox attack and not lose a chicken, if that’ s the case. And how ironic and touching that Simon, himself a refugee in need, would come between a chicken and a fox. Isn’t life curious?