Proof that chicken moat protection can work

using chicken pasture moats to keep deer out of garden

Last week I walked out to the garden after lunch and caught a mother deer and her son munching on our lush bed of parsley.

They saw me almost right away and bolted.

The doe took off one direction and the buck went a slightly different route and ended up stuck between two fences about 8 feet apart that we use as a chicken pasture moat.

He kept trying to jump over and through the 5 foot high fence but only bounced back to the ground each time.
baby buck and his mom talking about dangers in the world
Too bad our special kill permit had already expired...or if I had been more prepared I could have legally killed it with a bow and arrow at this time of year. Being prepared would mean obtaining the equipment and learning how to use it, a project we might get around to in the future.

He must have figured out that jumping over the fence at the end allowed enough clearance to make the jump. By the time I went back to the trailer for my camera he was gone.

With a little luck his mom will decide our parsley is too dangerous and look elsewhere for a snack. Image credit goes to Do You Have Horns.blogspot.com for the awesome abstract drawing of a mother deer and her son.