Recent content by helios

Same boat here...day 2 using A&D since I couldn't find my Vaseline tub I keep. I don't think it's terrible-just reminds me of changing diapers. I like the combination of oils and waxes (oil for penetration under the scales, wax for a long lasting barrier. I just wish it had some lanolin in...

Yeah, that's likely from a ginger stray cat. A gray fox would be the size of a very large cat, so would also need to squeeze through the gap and leave a little hair. The weasel's thick coat could be white/dingy white or chocolate brown with a white belly and chin, and would slink through that...

Pry chisel for leverage if you can get an edge away from the frame...

The people door? Like a regular door? I'd take a hammer to the frame if you were just banging with your hands, and maybe a pry chisel can help you get it loose. (Try not to damage the door so much as to not be able to lock it back up, of course.) I keep one of these handy in the winter for...

That hair on the top of the gap would be easy to identify if it's a gray fox. Weasel family would be uniform brown or white, not tipped like a fox's coat.

If the tracks on the glue trap are larger than a cat's, yes, might be a gray fox, as they have semi-retractable claws. No scale was given on the glue trap, but I found a photo of a similar one, and if the trap is this big, I could maybe see the tracks being big enough...cat tracks would fit...

Definitely in the weasel family. They will cache their kill to come back later.

As dobielover said, it was a weasel, even though those are cat prints. Weasels (and similar...mink, ermine, stoat, etc), will kill more than they need to eat, and often it will be hard to find more than a few puncture wounds at the neck. They are like little vampires, and very bold, tough, and...

I know this thread is a little old, but I wanted to chime in on winter heating and Modern Games, since this is a top result when I google "backyard chickens modern game winter heat". Ditto, Sharon...two winters ago, we had -18 temps (without windchill) in Northern Illinois for nearly a week...

I had massive predator losses last year and rebuilt my flock mostly with banties from Ideal. My two older girls were also from Ideal; they are silver Sebrights and out of the 8 I originally ordered two years ago, one had a crossed beak (although she has pretty nice lacing), all of them had...

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Brahma/BRKBrChix.html I know this is old, but I've been looking for this answer as well. According to the feathersite page linked above, I see splotchy chipmunk colors, yellow, light with gray blushes on the light brahma chicks, and Murray Mc Murray shows...

If you have any of the Scratch and Peck left, it helps to blend in the new feed gradually over at least a few days. I haven't tried Nutrena feeds. I feed Purina FlockRaiser crumbles (and oyster shell on the side and occasional greens/peas for the niacin boost). It's not organic, if that's...

I have Silver Sebrights. I'm happy to report that my 5 gallon bucket heat sink worked great for me in my small coop! It routinely raised the coop temp 20 degrees F from where the hens' body heat was keeping it. It even kept their water from freezing most nights. I kept a data sheet for a few...

I'm so glad this thread has kept alive! I love seeing the "fading toner" in the progressive egg carton[jtn]...I'm sure others do, too! I've only bred specific pens one summer; I more or less left them to their own proclivities last summer, as I had several young hens. Keep the pics coming of...

I'm leery of electric heat in the coop, and my SO is terrified of it! Here's what I've come up with for the coldest months... I have a "cozy" coop: it's designed for 3-6 hens to keep somewhat warm with body heat (about 4'H, 2.5'W, 4'L). I added 1" styrofoam insulation on the ceiling and all...