Guarding the flock

It is fox breeding season and we can hear them calling quite a lot at night at the moment.  The hawks are also quite active with their hunting right now and we have seen the eagles quite a lot of late as well. As a result the dogs have been busy, particularly in the early evening, patrolling and barking a warning for the predators to stay away. During the day they are more relaxed but still vigilant, particularly for predators on the wing. Grace in particular is great with the chickens. She is calm when moving around them and they trust her.  They respect her too. The photos are of Grace hanging out in the Faverolles cockerel pen.  The cockerels are like a bunch of young louts at times and can get a bit rowdy, seemingly forming gangs and looking to rumble. In the bottom picture you can see Grace walking purposely through the middle of them to break things up and calm them down. She does a good job keeping them in line. A bit of trivia:  Pyrenean Mountain Dogs and Faverolles chickens are both French breeds, and both have extra toes.