The Old Folks Home

[Arielle]

I am so HAPPY for you!!!!
ROFL my life is a soap opera tooo........and spent too many tears these last few months....... so I am tickled that your tears were of joy happiness and the realization that some good people really do exist.

 

[Alaskan]

Yeah... A bucket of nuts.... Thats me.

Son #2 skinned the sucker... Did a good job... He is gonna try to taxidermy it... Make it look lifelike and mount it on the wall.

 

[drumstick diva]

Alaskan I am getting the bends from the ups and downs in your life- whew, so I really know how you are feeling. Fingers crossed that works out.

 

[Alaskan]

Who is it? Arethra Franklin? That has that song "your love is like a see saw"

Anyway... Totally has been my life of late.....

I get back to a nice even keel.

The lady with my pair of chicks sent me a photo... Funny half grown things mothering a duckling...

They look good, definite boy and girl.... Pure bred wheaten Ameraucana.

 

[drumstick diva]

guess when mama finishes nursing the duckling, you'll have them back

 

[Wisher1000]

@Arielle

ARIELLE!!

You're back! I'm so exci...........




wait........

Where you been?

 

[Latestarter]

Was actually wondering the same thing... From the sound/tenor of her post, sounds like she's been "experiencing life" to extremes as well. Hope all is well with you @Arielle .

Al, sounds like you really lucked out when you gave that lady those chicks! At least you'll get something back to re-start with.

Grats on catching the weasel on the first go-round... that's pretty rare. Hope you get the rest since they seem to travel in threesomes...

 

[SoCal-ludic]

Hey Bruceha,
Thanks for the reply about you automatic chicken door. My door has a small battery which is solar powered and set to open and close with first and last light. When it closes at night, it waits 30 seconds then automatically open again for 10 seconds - in case there were to be a straggler.
I have 10 birds - 8 different breeds. All make their way inside well before the door closes. It is a big process for each to find a spot on the highest branch-roost each night. If a predator were to follow them into the secure roost, the door would close and trap him with 10 angry chickens. There would be a lot of noise I'm sure and the predator may be well fed, but he would also be dead. Good luck with your coon.

 

[bruceha2000]

Hey Bruceha,
Thanks for the reply about you automatic chicken door. My door has a small battery which is solar powered and set to open and close with first and last light. When it closes at night, it waits 30 seconds then automatically open again for 10 seconds - in case there were to be a straggler.
I have 10 birds - 8 different breeds. All make their way inside well before the door closes. It is a big process for each to find a spot on the highest branch-roost each night. If a predator were to follow them into the secure roost, the door would close and trap him with 10 angry chickens. There would be a lot of noise I'm sure and the predator may be well fed, but he would also be dead. Good luck with your coon.

Coon is out in the woods, buzzard food I think. Two of them flew out when I took the adult 'chuck out a few days ago. I've not killed the juveniles (moved them 1,500' to the edge of the property), but the adult died with a pellet to the head in the Havahart trap.

The coon was climbing the post of the open coop people door at 7:15 PM the same day I found the headless chicken in the other coop. I had an ill hen in the broody buster up at 4' (she was in it in the other coop when the coon killed Fae and I moved her to the secure coop). I presume it was going back to try to get in the buster (and possibly had tried the night before??). I had gone down to put the girls safely in the coop before I figured the coon would be out (WRONG!), they were all outside and were following me in for nightly scratch. I slammed the door on them so they stayed out and smacked at the coon with the spading fork. Luckily it dropped into the coop and I closed the door. Long story slightly shorter, I killed it with a pellet rifle I had purchased that day, it was still in the plastic bag in the box.

At some point I hope to trust that I can use the auto door again. There are a LOT more feathers around than usual and they aren't moulting. Being cooped up before they are ready and not able to get out before *I* am ready is causing a lot of aggressive behavior.

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry for your predator troubles Bruce. Really sucks, but I guess it's the story of chicken ownership... eventually, despite everything and anything we do, we'll find ourselves dealing with chicken killers. At least you caught it before there were more serious losses. Hope the two juvies don't come back and cause additional issues.

I don't recall what kind of auto door you have, but you should be able to program it to open close at specific times rather than by the presence (or lack thereof) of sunlight. If not as a function of the door, perhaps you could purchase a timer device/module to place between the power source and the actuator? Or maybe create a completely enclosed/safe run area that the door can let them into as a staging area before you release them to free range? Side benefit, they'd be protected if you took off for a couple of days. Then you could just go out and secure the run area at the end of the day when they've moved back in, and they can coop up when they're ready...