Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[topdycke]

You took out two cats with one can of sardines? Poor stupid cats

 

[Bulldogma]

Too bad about the chicks, Oz!
Up in the VA mountains our weather has been cooler than normal this summer and the chickens have been laying great, though some are starting to molt now. It's been in the 70's-low 80's during the day and in the 50's at night! Having lived in TX for so many years, this weather is amazing to me... but I'm worried about how cold it's going to get this winter!

Hope you can find some eggs soon!

 

[dpenning]

We found the reason that there were no more sardines eaten. Well two reasons actually.

You may have given us the answer we have been looking for. Our neighborhood is being overrun with feral cats. This is in the city! There were six of the buggers in my neighbors yard when I got home tonight. They don't own the cats but they put out cat food. I may have to make a sardine offering.

 

[piglett]

so true piglett

even domestic cats are pretty much feral. their breeding is unchecked but life expectancy is low

vet clinics and rescues dont exist

skunk #3 has been caught & has been done away with

they all end up in a hole out back

 

[ozexpat]

I am glad I can put the issue behind us. Obviously we will have to try and ensure that coops are cat proof but mitigating risk from both directions is the way to go.

Our lumber supply is beefed up. We managed to get 500 board feet out of the coconut trees in Kabankalan. The santol trunk was long enough for 16 ft 2x4s. i like to have them long as I can always shorten them.

The Santol lumber will go under Dominics house for a year to dry.

The chainsaw guy is now milling three local coco trees.

 

[Tomtommom]

You may have given us the answer we have been looking for. Our neighborhood is being overrun with feral cats. This is in the city! There were six of the buggers in my neighbors yard when I got home tonight. They don't own the cats but they put out cat food. I may have to make a sardine offering.

This may sound counter intuitive, but in the US it's better to trap, neuter and release.

The thought behing it is that a colony of strays that can no longer reproduce is less of an issue than a revolving door where the cats get killed and then get replaced by new cats that find the now empty territory.

http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=926

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Or the the SSS method... shoot shovel shut up. The deal here in the US is you can get arrested for poisoning just about anything except rats gophers and mice.... especially in the city.

deb

 

[ramirezframing]

I had a stray cat show up a few years ago. Called him slink, as he would slink around the place mostly at night until he got use to use. He didn't bother the chickens/ chicks, but he did wipe the yard clean of all else even though we did feed him. He doesn't come around much anymore (thought he was gone until I seen him at o am one night earlier this spring), so I took a few small rat snakes that I had found in the chicken house and put them in the shed to help keep the mice down that are in there after the livestock feed.

 

[Tomtommom]

I had a stray cat show up a few years ago. Called him slink, as he would slink around the place mostly at night until he got use to use. He didn't bother the chickens/ chicks, but he did wipe the yard clean of all else even though we did feed him. He doesn't come around much anymore (thought he was gone until I seen him at o am one night earlier this spring), so I took a few small rat snakes that I had found in the chicken house and put them in the shed to help keep the mice down that are in there after the livestock feed.

I have a cat that's a hunter, but he wont touch the chicks/chickens... When we first got into chickens he was very interested, but he realizes he best not mess with them, so he just sleeps on the chicken coop and catches other critters. Moles, voles and chipmunks don't stand a chance..

 

[Coop Scoop Boogie]

My cats don't bother the chickens or chicks........but squirrels are on the menu for them
as well as mice and varmits. Our biggest problem is snakes and an occasional owl. The
most chickens we have lost were to the two-legged varmits. padlocks on doors now.