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Post by heidihi on Mar 18, 2011 8:11:40 GMT -5
Heidi: I don't get the whole aristocracy thing myself = but then I'm a highland Scot by descent, and not genetically inclined to care much for them. LOL! I dated a Scot from Port Alberni on Vancouver Island who said the same thing to me one day when we were talking about something similar! mind you he was wearing a kilt at the time ..so I know!!! |
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Post by steev on Mar 18, 2011 13:59:17 GMT -5
The Aristocracy, yes, or as I tend to think of them, the Emergency Food Supply.
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Post by heidihi on Mar 19, 2011 6:29:16 GMT -5
OK Stressball got pegged by a great horned owl last night (Stressball was a basket can neurotic hen who would run from food when you tossed it out and then have a stress molt over the whole thing) ...she had been roosting at like 3pm and we could not get her out of the trees into the coop at night so we had to bag it and let her take her chances ... anyway 10:30 last night there was this loud noise in the yard I opened the window looked out into the woods and saw the owl come hit the trees and take off with her ..not one feather left My husband I had a long talk afterwards..he is a mega bird watcher (I think I hve mentioned that) and we are so excited to have these birds active here again this spring that taking Stressball ..while sad ..it was also kind of incredible that I can live in a relatively urban area and have so much wildlife activity in my yard! raccoons and opossums aside ..and really I do hate raccoons right now they are assholes for how they shred animals! That owl ate a chicken ..what else is an owl supposed to do? That owl taking Stressball brought on kind of rush to be honest it was like a nature show in my back yard..(I grew up in a big city on the east coast owls never pegged chickens there) . I am going to build my flock up again for sure ...we are going to be VERY dilligent about live trapping the raccoons and opossums... but the owls and even that stunning fox ..I am ok with them partaking on occasion ...I put my money time and efforts into making sure birds and other wildlife are fed by planting seeds, nuts, fruits, and grasses ..why not a Great Horned owl family? and the odd fox ..we have so few in this area ...we have coyotes around but none have ever ..that we could tell made it into the yard ...deer galore (sometimes I wish one would walk itself right into my freezer they are huge fat deer!) Owls ..fox.. both eat vermin for me so I provide the odd chicken for them too is there anything wrong ? am I totall ynuts for thinking this is ok? we also have barred owls who gobble mice and I love that! they just will be sitting there in my driveway ..when I pull in at night with a big mouse going down and look at the car like "um can you not see I am enjoying my meal here" I hate vermin..I think owls are amazing ..beauitful and feel so much gratitude for having them here  |
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Post by steev on Mar 19, 2011 13:04:19 GMT -5
One of my someday projects is owl houses; I agree they are marvelous creatures. I've read that the favorite food of Great Horned owls is skunks; no accounting for taste, I suppose.
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Post by heidihi on Apr 11, 2011 21:22:54 GMT -5
we replenished and added ducks to our flock they are just hatched so we have time to reinforce the fence try to seal them in a bit better so we do not keep feeding wildlife our flock!
wish me luck
I got a bunch of khaki Campbell and 2 yellow ducklings of unknown mixed heritage
my husband calls the khaki Campbell's "bastard mallards"
I have never had ducks but they are in with the chickens and the guy who gave them to us said they would grow up fine together just add a kiddy pool for the ducks when they are big enough
I am convinced spring is close
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Post by flowerpower on Apr 12, 2011 5:47:41 GMT -5
I have chickens & ducks housed together. They get along fine. But I don't use a kiddie pool. It's just too large for me to lift when I need to empty it. I use a big plastic sandbox in the warm weather. It's not very deep but it's good enough for bathing. I also like the fact that it is shallow enough for the chickens. Ever since I had a bird drown on the rain barrel, I'm paranoid.
The only animal that has snatched my chickens is the fox. And always in broad daylight, right around the time the kits are born. I hate to hurt any animal, but I am not gonna lose all my birds. If I see the fox during the day, I'll have to call one of my friends that hunts to take care of it. I personally couldn't shoot it.
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Post by heidihi on Apr 12, 2011 7:05:56 GMT -5
thanks flowerpower I was wondering if there was anything I needed to do besides add water for the ducks when they are old enough ..my husband rigged a spout on the side of the pool so I could put a hose on and let the water drain where I wanted it to because no I could not dump it either! huge heavy and awkward we have live traps set up all over the yard and while it is kind of gross to have a pissed off fox in the back of your car we take the critters 20 miles from the house and dump them in the woods the fox was a rarity the really offender I want gone gone are the raccoons they are just evil!!! as I said they do not even eat the poor birds they shred them and leave the mess all over the yard! why kill if you are not hungry?  at least the owls and fox ate it or hauled it off to eat it ...no more however I am done feeding wildlife my birds... although the great horned owls are just magnificant and I want them to stay ..but in a year they have only pegged two the rest of the deaths had to do with the raccoons and 2 to the fox ...I do not think an oppossum has gotten a chicken yet but they sure make a mess of the nests eating the eggs that have not been picked up in time ...big ugly rats they are!!! those are easy to trap and move and usually if we get the entire family then it is quiet for a year ..in fact the raccoons were quiet for two years they just recently started coming in the yard..I wish my dogs would help! they are such wimps and are terrified of vermin ..although my boy dog seems to be getting the mousing thing down he loves chasing and eating the mice now! so our population has gone down quite a bit... |
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Post by wildseed57 on Apr 12, 2011 10:40:19 GMT -5
You need a place that the chicken can run to for safety, although if they can fly into a tree? they are just asking for it, I lost a lot of guineas that way they would all flock up and fly into the trees so one by one the Owls and Hawks would take them. Owls will even take ducks if they can, and foxes will take ducks as they are a part of what they take in the wild.
Raccoons, and Opossums are creature of habits and are a real nuisance once they take a chicken they will just keep coming and will often kill several at a time, these I would shoot as they oft will find their way back, the same thing for opossums.
George W.
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Post by heidihi on Apr 13, 2011 17:40:57 GMT -5
ok we had a talk and came to the conslusion ..are going to keep the chickens and ducks in the tractors we built ...we have used them but then were letting them back in the coop at night ..our coop is just not secure and right now the cost and time to refurbish vs using tractors..well (they are big comfy ones and will hold a little pool and go over our garden pond actually ) tractors win! we have three that should be enough and we can move them around and keep them safe at the same time
well safer ..not matter what they are really at the bottom of the food chain poor things!
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Post by heidihi on Apr 18, 2011 7:09:33 GMT -5
Well the ducklings are a riot to watch and so are the baby chicks! I can not believe how much water/food these little things can go through! I have always been given or bought full grown hens ....we had them in the house for a while now have moved the babies out to a well protected cage with the warming light in it ..so far so good we will keep them in there until they are too big for sure .. ..it may have been too soon but we are (I hope) beyond the possilbility of a freeze...my husband and grandson are so allergic to them, having them on the porch or in the house was not working out very well. We put them in the chicken tractor on Saturday and wow the baby ducks leveled the grassy weedy area in just a few hours! I am so excited at my new garden plows and their capabilities ..so I plan to put them to work as soon as possible! ..I am however just as sure they would level my intentionally planted garden as well so I better keep them in the tractor or the chicken yard ..they LOVE slugs..wow do they ever!!!I tossed some in to them and wow they were down the hatch in a second!
they are just so fun to watch ..so are the baby chicks ..I hope I have mostly female but will not be able to tell until something crows or lays eggs
I keep saying this is "the last time!!!" and then there is another time!!!
and another and another..oh well
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at least the owls and fox ate it or hauled it off to eat it ...no more however I am done feeding wildlife my birds...