Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

As these photos show and as mentioned in previous entries, the turkeys' ability to reach the dizzy heights of the poultry house roofs has been slowly re-developing as their 'clipped' wings have once again grown back! And so this morning, armed with our clippers, we opened up the main poultry house, ushered out the geese and chickens and for the THIRD time this year trimmed back the turkeys' primary feathers. (See entry on 1st September for how we do it.)
The first time back in September was easy but the turkeys are now a lot heavier. It is a totally painless procedure (just like cutting your nails) but nonetheless the turkeys weren't too impressed at not being able to do their usual early morning leap and flap and run out of the house. Still, it was all over in minutes and once again we feel our polytunnel may now be safe from inquisitive turkeys landing on top of it and then sliding down, claws digging in!!!
Funnily enough, a few hours later, a neighbour popped over with two young guinea fowl and a request: 'did we know how to clip wings???' Luckily the clippers had not been put away!
Not quite so funny was the lack of our two Plymouth Rock chickens and our conclusion has to be that they have indeed been taken by a fox. We know that we have at least one fox around in the daytime (see 5th November)! Worrying times!!