Minnesota!

[Rhetts]

Now I know coons are all fearsome and what not, byt the question is chipmunks and 13stripe gophers...are they just as bad but in a different way? I have about 5 running around.

UGH!!! I have an enormous amount of gophers or ground squirrels or whatever they are called. I am in the process of getting the traps prepared. They have already decimated my green beans. I had to replant. I saw my ducks chasing one around the yard and the cats chased one up a tree. So far they are sticking to ruining my garden. But that is bad enough!! Operation gopher removal has commenced!

 

[gofeedthegirls]

UGH!!!  I have an enormous amount of gophers or ground squirrels or whatever they are called.  I am in the process of getting the traps prepared.  They have already decimated my green beans.  I had to replant.  I saw my ducks chasing one around the yard and the cats chased one up a tree.  So far they are sticking to ruining my garden.  But that is bad enough!!  Operation gopher removal has commenced!

I personally get a lot of enjoyment sitting on the dexk with a iced tea and my 17

 

[Rhetts]

I personally get a lot of enjoyment sitting on the dexk with a iced tea and my 17

I would pick them off if I could but they are so stinkin stealthy! I have A LOT of grass overgrowth all over my yard. I can hear them all the time but seeing them is another matter. I have a rock pile I can use a trap on otherwise I am not sure what to do.

 

[Rhetts]

I should add that I did get 30+ of them last fall using the trap method so it does seem to work.

 

[duluthralphie]

I wish I had striped gopher instead of pocket gophers.

The pocket gophers do not play fair, they never stick their heads above ground. I have even thought about getting some enriched uranium yellow cake and building a small thermonuclear device to set on top of their piles to get them.... ( that should give the FBI and the NSA something to think about today)

If you do not hear from me over the weekend you will they are listening/monitoring BYC and they have no sense of humor......


Holm I assume I will raise the girls keep a couple boys until spring then eat them. The are small but their is just the two of us. I have no idea how many I have right now I would guess 15ish. They are fun to watch run around the yard. They go so fast everywhere they go and they are so small compared to my normal chickens.

I am going to put all the Creamettes in the coop the normal birds are in now, with a covered run for hatching next year. Maybe I will try to get NPIP certified and sell chicks and eggs next spring, bringing the price/cost down to a more reasonable level on them. BUT that might happen on it's own beings they are not the "hot new bird" to have anymore.

If I am lucky I will find someone willing to trade Dominiques for them. I still want Dominiques. After my luck with Cochins I am not sure about them anymore...hehehehe

 

[The BlanchRanch]

Lots of great news. Congratulations on the new family member, Bogtown!
Glad to hear your chicken came back, Ralphy!

Still learning chicken vet stuff.

I bought liquid Safeway for goats. It was all I could find.

Thanks!! Sounds like this may be the problem.
Lots of questions; should I treat all five of them and will they stop laying when I do.
How long do I treat them?
How do I administer the dose?
Thanks!!

If one has them probably all have them. So go ahead and treat all of them now. you can pull down their wattles and their beak will open and put in the small dose of medicine (remember this medicine is geared for treating cattle and horses) Small amount. You give the dose one day then retreat in 10 days. The medicine kills the worms but it does not kill eggs. So eggs in the system will hatch new worms and that's why you need to follow with a second dose. Then during and after the treatments throw out any eggs for 2 weeks to ensure the 1/2 life of the medicine has passed. You can scramble and feed to a dog or whatever.

2 weeks after the final treatment or from the first treatment.

Again. Thanks so much. You can't learn this type of thing from books.

 

[bantiesrule]

I would pick them off if I could but they are so stinkin stealthy! I have A LOT of grass overgrowth all over my yard. I can hear them all the time but seeing them is another matter. I have a rock pile I can use a trap on otherwise I am not sure what to do.

I have a mama cat that has been catching gophers like crazy. I have to rehome her though, she is starting to go after the baby chicks. If you keep your chicks penned up or only have adalt birds, she would be perfect. She's free to anyone who will give her a good home (she is an outside cat). Also have kittens to rehome if anyone is interested.

 

[Rhetts]

I have 2 outdoor cats that have not caught one of the gophers. I think they are too big for the cats. Like I said, I am not sure what they are but DH calls them ground squirrels. Didn't even know such thing existed. When I was growing up we had 2 kinds of gophers. the striped one dad would shoot with his gun when they popped out of the hole and then the pocket gopher that made those huge mounds that we would use traps on. The things I have don't look like either of those and it does has a slightly bushy tail. I looked it up one time online and found something called a Franklin Ground Squirrel that it looks a lot like what I have. Not sure that it is that for sure though. Whatever I have, they are not the slightest afraid of my cats, they love to eat my veggies and they are numerous. Like a prairie dog town over here.

So my turkey hen never did show up. I was so excited to see her come home with babies too. It really stinks. I didn't realize how much I cared for that stupid turkey until the reality sunk in that she was gone. I still look for her out the window ever so hopeful that I am wrong.

 

[holm25]

Sorry your turkey never came back Rhetts.

We have Franklin ground squirrels here. But they get shot or tormented by the chickens who chase them all over.



I cannot find anyone selling the turkey breeds we want!!! We r trying to find some Bourbon Red, Narragansett, Royal Palm or Slates. But knowone is selling any babies or full grown birds!!

 

[duluthralphie]

What color slates?