A couple of random pictures from the last dig of the day on Sunday. This was a small spring groundhog taken from a Morrison shed -- a bit of minor pest control. The groundhog was very shallow, but in ground as hard as adobe, compacted by tons of large farm equipment and hundreds of large bales.
At the end of the day, Chris picked up a free rooster from the farmer -- it will be rehomed with one of his neighbors who raise chickens. The bird had a rooster-mate a few weeks ago, but he lost his head due to intemperance, as he was harassing the hens.
This last rooster was smart enough to stay in the farm yard so that the farmer's Australian shepherd (on a stout chain) could keep fox and raccoon at bay. Chicken may be bird-brained, but they are no one's fool.
The small hen house on this farm is riddled underneath by a complex groundhog den, and a groundhog was seen scurrying into the tunnels as we chased down the wayward rooster. We will get him next time.
I have removed a groundhog from this sette once before, and filled it in as best I could, but it has been re-opened and re-occupied making it a perfect entry way for fox and raccoon eager for a chicken dinner. The chicken shed has a wood floor, but it is far from solid and the den pipe enters into the outside run at the back.
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