Love my chickens

[left field]

Thread inspired me to pick up some local eggs. 
 

And since this is a bird thread. 

A chickadee smashed into our window and fell with his wings splayed onto the snow. Normally, that means broken neck and fox food. But not today. At this time in the world.

I picked him up and gently folded his wings back in as his eyelids quietly fluttered. There was some life still in him. I wrapped him loosely in a scarf and placed him in a box in the mud room. Dark, warm, safe, said my Canadian Scout Handbook. And wait.

90 minutes later, the cat perked up to some movement in the mud room and I found the little guy out of the box and clinging to the ceiling. Picked him up and held him outside the door. He kindly took a moment for the picture then flew off to join his pals.

I don’t know if bird rescue gets you into heaven but if the gates of heaven are guarded by Horus, at least they’ll hear my petition.

[Doewhacker]

10 minutes ago, left field said:

A chickadee smashed

Looks like a Nuthatch to me. 

Some Canadian scout you are. 

[left field]

He may not be looking his best having gone through a head-on collision, emergency room admittance and doctor-ordered bedside rest, but I assure you he’s a chickadee. 

However if you’re that adamant about showing me up, here’s the contact info for the Canadian Scouting Commissioner. [email protected]

I told him to expect your email. 

[Doewhacker]

I’ve been in contact with J T and he is not happy. 
 

You keep this up and Tim Hortons is off limits. 

[Moho81]

Whats the work load like for 6-12 chickens? 

Couple hours a week? Couple of hours a day? somewhere in the middle or even more? 

[mowin]

2 hours ago, Moho81 said:

Whats the work load like for 6-12 chickens? 

Couple hours a week? Couple of hours a day? somewhere in the middle or even more? 

Depends.  My feeder and waterer lasts 3 days, 8 brids.   Clean the coop once a month.  Give them grass clippings, or scratch grains every other day.  

Biggest issue is predators.  Building a coop and run that is predator proof is a pain in the butt.   

Edited April 20, 2020 by mowin

[left field]

On 4/19/2020 at 11:59 AM, Doewhacker said:

I’ve been in contact with J T and he is not happy. 

You keep this up and Tim Hortons is off limits. 

In retrospect, I think you’re right. I saw the black head and grey wings as he fluttered around my mudroom and assumed chickadee but the beak is the giveaway.

I feel I’ve let down the Canadian scouting organization and once back in the city I’ll put on my old sash and have my wife cashier the bird watching badge. 

I’ll probably only be allowed to use the Tim Hortons drive-through now. 

 

 

[Doewhacker]

1 hour ago, left field said:

In retrospect, I think you’re right. I saw the black head and grey wings as he fluttered around my mudroom and assumed chickadee but the beak is the giveaway.

I feel I’ve let down the Canadian scouting organization and once back in the city I’ll put on my old sash and have my wife cashier the bird watching badge. 

I’ll probably only be allowed to use the Tim Hortons drive-through now. 

 

 

The taste would be the true test, Nuthatchs taste like Humming birds while Chickadee flavor is more akin to spring Chipmunk. 

Ill let it slide, this time. 

[Doewhacker]

5 hours ago, Moho81 said:

Whats the work load like for 6-12 chickens? 

Couple hours a week? Couple of hours a day? somewhere in the middle or even more? 

A few minutes a day once you’re all set up. We make our teenager do most of it. 
 

Coop clean out, like mowin said, once a month or as needed and that is slightly longer process depending on size. 
 

 

[Doewhacker]

3 hours ago, mowin said:

Biggest issue is predators.  Building a coop and run that is predator proof is a pain in the butt. 

Very true, everything likes the taste of chicken. 
 

We have had, Fox, Hawks, Owls, Rats, Mink, Skunk, Racoon and Fisher in or around the run. 
 

Burying a Skunk I had to trap and dispatch in the middle summer on a 90* day was the worst. Convincing a Owl or a Hawk to leave the enclosure is a real treat too. You just can’t reason with them.  

[mowin]

18 minutes ago, Doewhacker said:

Very true, everything likes the taste of chicken. 
 

We have had, Fox, Hawks, Owls, Rats, Mink, Skunk, Racoon and Fisher in or around the run. 
 

Burying a Skunk I had to trap and dispatch in the middle summer on a 90* day was the worst. Convincing a Owl or a Hawk to leave the enclosure is a real treat too. You just can’t reason with them.  

Lol.   Nothing besides a bear is getting in my coop or run.   Run is totally covered in hardware cloth, and I've got a 20" hardware cloth apron around the whole thing to stop digging predators.  

Don't have a finished pic, but this is close..

[Moho81]

Depends.  My feeder and waterer lasts 3 days, 8 brids.   Clean the coop once a month.  Give them grass clippings, or scratch grains every other day.  
Biggest issue is predators.  Building a coop and run that is predator proof is a pain in the butt.   

So having a fox on the trail camera weekly and having Yote tracks in the back yard is not great? Lol.


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[Doewhacker]

11 minutes ago, mowin said:

Lol.   Nothing besides a bear is getting in my coop or run.   Run is totally covered in hardware cloth, and I've got a 20" hardware cloth apron around the whole thing to stop digging predators.  

Don't have a finished pic, but this is close..

 

Nice, my coop is 10X12 with 10 foot walls and the run is @60 feet long by 10 wide. It’s covered as of this past winter, wire on the bottom and plastic mesh from 3 feet up and under the roof. 
 

Most of my predator run ins have come from other pens like my chicken tractor for the meat birds. The Skunk dug under the blockades I had. The owl busted into a duck run I had, went right through the mesh. The Coons reached through the side of the fence and into a dog kennel we had some new birds in and tore them out. That was a head scratcher to figure out. 
 

Fox seem to like to run around the outside and try to rile the birds up and hope one makes a break for it, or they wait for us to free range them. They are the most persistent of all and the only thing that stops them is a bullet. 

[Doewhacker]

2 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

So having a fox on the trail camera weekly and having Yote tracks in the back yard is not great? Lol.


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You can shoot them to protect livestock if caught in the act. Coyotes have never been an issue here with the birds thankfully. 

[mowin]

43 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

So having a fox on the trail camera weekly and having Yote tracks in the back yard is not great? Lol.


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I see tracks around my coop(when we have snow) all the time.  They've tried digging in, but the hardware cloth apron stops them fast.  If I see them, a .17 to the head work well. 

[mowin]

45 minutes ago, Doewhacker said:

Nice, my coop is 10X12 with 10 foot walls and the run is @60 feet long by 10 wide. It’s covered as of this past winter, wire on the bottom and plastic mesh from 3 feet up and under the roof. 
 

Most of my predator run ins have come from other pens like my chicken tractor for the meat birds. The Skunk dug under the blockades I had. The owl busted into a duck run I had, went right through the mesh. The Coons reached through the side of the fence and into a dog kennel we had some new birds in and tore them out. That was a head scratcher to figure out. 
 

Fox seem to like to run around the outside and try to rile the birds up and hope one makes a break for it, or they wait for us to free range them. They are the most persistent of all and the only thing that stops them is a bullet. 

Holy crap.  That's a huge run. 

 I had a redtail hawk bounce off my run a couple times.  I can imagine they were like WTF... Lol. 

[Pygmy]

1 hour ago, Doewhacker said:

Nice, my coop is 10X12 with 10 foot walls and the run is @60 feet long by 10 wide. It’s covered as of this past winter, wire on the bottom and plastic mesh from 3 feet up and under the roof. 
 

Most of my predator run ins have come from other pens like my chicken tractor for the meat birds. The Skunk dug under the blockades I had. The owl busted into a duck run I had, went right through the mesh. The Coons reached through the side of the fence and into a dog kennel we had some new birds in and tore them out. That was a head scratcher to figure out. 
 

Fox seem to like to run around the outside and try to rile the birds up and hope one makes a break for it, or they wait for us to free range them. They are the most persistent of all and the only thing that stops them is a bullet. 

Hehehehe...Been through that ALL, Doe  ...

Reminds me of a story....The time I stood buck naked in my kitchen and shot a fox...

One night about 4:00 AM I heard  my chickens squawking....I always slept in the nude, so I padded out into the kitchen  in my altogether.. 

In the light of my security light, I could see a red fox racing around the chicken run...My wife's 20 gauge 1100 was handy in the corner, since we had had a Cooper's hawk take a chicken a few days earlier...

I  chambered a round of #6 shot and cracked open the door...Mister Red Fox made the mistake of stopping and looking at the house, at which time I dropped him in a heap right next to the chicken coop door.....I set the gun back in the corner and went back to bed...My wife never heard the shot...

[mowin]

12 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

Hehehehe......wife never heard the shot...

Are you sure you shot the fox??? 

[Moho81]

You can shoot them to protect livestock if caught in the act. Coyotes have never been an issue here with the birds thankfully. 

I see tracks around my coop(when we have snow) all the time.  They've tried digging in, but the hardware cloth apron stops them fast.  If I see them, a .17 to the head work well. 

I don’t live on enough land to comfortably shoot anything but the bow out to 30-40 yards.

I have a few years to ponder this but it’s a good conversation for sure.


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[airedale]

A good yard dog will go a long way on saving livestock losses from Varmints, raising poultry is ringing the dinner bell, it is an endless battle.

Edited April 21, 2020 by airedale

[mowin]

1 hour ago, airedale said:

A good yard dog will go a long way on saving livestock losses from Varmints, raising poultry is ringing the dinner bell, it is an endless battle.

Your dog took those out, with no help from you? 

That's one bad ass dog.  

I recommend Turkerfeathers not wear his bunny suit if he ever comes to visit. 

[Steuben Jerry]

13 hours ago, mowin said:

Lol.   Nothing besides a bear is getting in my coop or run.   Run is totally covered in hardware cloth, and I've got a 20" hardware cloth apron around the whole thing to stop digging predators.  

Don't have a finished pic, but this is close..

Proven Bear-proof. Pic is from whatever crummy flip phone I was toting around in 2013. Chain link fence around and on top with top rail reinforcements. We were gifted with a cat a few years ago, and she lives in the chicken coop, so we get the occasional raccoon or opossum that gets in through her entrance. But the bears have been stymied.

[Pygmy]

I stepped  out my back door one morning many years ago and found a large, very dead, buck mink...

There was fresh snow that morning, so I backtracked to learn the story..

The mink had come up from the creek behind my barn, and was headed directly toward the chicken coop...He made it about halfway, and his tracks were intercepted by  tracks of my springer spaniel, Doc....

Thanks to Doc, instead of the mink getting a chicken dinner, I got a mink pelt to use for my fly tying...

[airedale]

2 hours ago, mowin said:

Your dog took those out, with no help from you? 

An experienced Airedale can take out most Varmints with ease if they can catch them. Dog-Varmint encounters and situations are varied, Skunks, Rats, Possums Weasels and the occasional Coon will sometimes get caught by the dog and killed on the spot. Many times the Coon are treed by the dog and I will shoot them, I had my young female Airedale tree three Coons last summer that were killing chickens. Fox and Coyotes will be run off by the dogs for the most part but there are always a few exceptions that try and push their luck. If they stay in sight long enough they will be shot and on a couple of occasions I dinged them and had to use a dog to track them down and they will finish things.

I have a Fox right now looking for trouble and more than likely he will end up dead if he starts killing. I will set up with a Varmint call and that will be it.

Al

Edited April 21, 2020 by airedale

[cynthiafu]

Oh guys I am jealous.  I love your coops and runs . I built my coop on a base and I get up at 5am every morning and let the chickens out . Sit outside with them for 1 to 2 hours then I go to work  . Then at 330 I let them out again and they are out there till 630 or 7 . The put themselves  to bed I go out and close everything up  .  On that note I just put geese eggs in the incubator  lolol.  Not sure if they will hatch but giving it a shot .  They are harder to hatch out in an incubator.