- Mar 17, 2012
- 5
- 0
- 7
So we're learning some hard and fast lessons out here in the country. Looking to get a feel to see if it is an error we ourselves are making or simply bad luck. We have lost 19 Chantecler's, 4 Rouens and Two Chinese Goslings, one injured. 90% of this was yesterday. Let's start at the beginning, warning this is a long post.
There was something in the barn walls, baby somethings, with an angry momma something. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was but I could tell it was a nest and momma was away at night, so nocturnal. The next week we picked up a dog wandering down our road (almost hit her). As a dog trainer I can't leave well enough alone in a thunder storm. We ended up with a chicken fatality in the 4 days she stayed. Hubby blamed the dog, I blamed the wall-creature. We bought a live trap and that night, no more wall creature noises of course.
Without further incident, dog back with her owners (very nice people, nice dog too), everyone was hitting good ages. The young Partridge Chanteclers were doing well without their heat lamp in an indoor/outdoor coop and the older mixes were stellar with the free range. We have tons of hedges and tall grass and indoor outdoor runs for the barn. The ducks and goose were getting BIG! and STINKY! So we moved them down to their duck house by the pond for a week to get them used to it, and started letting them out for a bit in the day. Usually I am home all day, 7mos pregnant, I check in on my babies OFTEN. So this week, we began free ranging the younger chanteclers and the ducks/geese. Well, we set up the livetrap at the duck house. I caught a very angry momma barn cat that we know is not an issue. Why she was interested in marshmallows and peanut butter, I'll never know. Maybe I should put some food out for the poor thing.
Day two one goose is injured in his pen, I take him into the house. It's a flesh wound on his leg, albeit a bad one but I knew it was repairable (have helped lots of wild and domestic animals from serious injury). Looking at it I realized something must have grabbed him through the bars, realizing (baby brain), I'd let them out without taking a dog to flush out the bushes. I figured he'd somehow injured himself. I get down to the pond, I am minus a gosling. Never found.
Fast forward to yesterday. The same dog is back. 18 chickens, 4 ducks and the remaining goose are all dead. Mostly not eaten. Just dead. Of what was free ranged we have 5 remaining chickens. 3 Chanteclers, 2 Chantecler mixes, and the goose in our mudroom (had a great bathtub swim with some fantastic dives and he's growing well, goose "physio" is going well. The owner of the dog has been more then helpful and helped with the clean up... and is compensating, but I'm afraid I haven't got the energy for THAT many babies again. We have meat chicks coming tomorrow at Rooney's and 12 ducklings we picked up... yesterday... the one day I wasn't home and doing a head count every two hours! Go figure!
Wondering how severe everyone else has learned these lessons. We're thinking we will have Mr. Goose living up at the barn, ideally he can notify me if things are amiss. We aren't going to attempt a fancy breeding project this year. We intend on picking up some good mixed heritage breed hens at chesterville to hopefully have some broody ones next year and buy some chantecler eggs for a lesser cost. For the duck house by the pond, we've bought a dozen muscovy ducklings which are in the brooder and we think we should pick up an adult pair of large geese for down there.
We really don't want to give up on free ranging. We are doing this for our own food, to provide for ourselves and while I can accept the occasional loss it was SUCH waste and so senseless. We filled a rubbermaid bin and didn't find everyone. The ducks were just dead, all in a row maybe a yard or two apart. Lifeless but looking unharmed. We're worried she'll come back. but have been promised she will be tied. Would love tips on things we can do. First rule, Nothing goes Out if I'm not going to be home all day (6 days a week, I am, and will be). Thoughts appreciated... sorry again for the long post, just feeling a little lost and bewildered and a little like giving up! We are doing this to feed our family with food raised the right way. It was a joy to watch these guys all grow, and while we'd accepted their fate this was something we were not prepared for. There is no doubt what happened. It was broad day light and the dog was sleeping on our porch with blood on her face... Tips, thoughts, added security ideas while still allowing a degree of freedom?
There was something in the barn walls, baby somethings, with an angry momma something. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was but I could tell it was a nest and momma was away at night, so nocturnal. The next week we picked up a dog wandering down our road (almost hit her). As a dog trainer I can't leave well enough alone in a thunder storm. We ended up with a chicken fatality in the 4 days she stayed. Hubby blamed the dog, I blamed the wall-creature. We bought a live trap and that night, no more wall creature noises of course.
Without further incident, dog back with her owners (very nice people, nice dog too), everyone was hitting good ages. The young Partridge Chanteclers were doing well without their heat lamp in an indoor/outdoor coop and the older mixes were stellar with the free range. We have tons of hedges and tall grass and indoor outdoor runs for the barn. The ducks and goose were getting BIG! and STINKY! So we moved them down to their duck house by the pond for a week to get them used to it, and started letting them out for a bit in the day. Usually I am home all day, 7mos pregnant, I check in on my babies OFTEN. So this week, we began free ranging the younger chanteclers and the ducks/geese. Well, we set up the livetrap at the duck house. I caught a very angry momma barn cat that we know is not an issue. Why she was interested in marshmallows and peanut butter, I'll never know. Maybe I should put some food out for the poor thing.
Day two one goose is injured in his pen, I take him into the house. It's a flesh wound on his leg, albeit a bad one but I knew it was repairable (have helped lots of wild and domestic animals from serious injury). Looking at it I realized something must have grabbed him through the bars, realizing (baby brain), I'd let them out without taking a dog to flush out the bushes. I figured he'd somehow injured himself. I get down to the pond, I am minus a gosling. Never found.
Fast forward to yesterday. The same dog is back. 18 chickens, 4 ducks and the remaining goose are all dead. Mostly not eaten. Just dead. Of what was free ranged we have 5 remaining chickens. 3 Chanteclers, 2 Chantecler mixes, and the goose in our mudroom (had a great bathtub swim with some fantastic dives and he's growing well, goose "physio" is going well. The owner of the dog has been more then helpful and helped with the clean up... and is compensating, but I'm afraid I haven't got the energy for THAT many babies again. We have meat chicks coming tomorrow at Rooney's and 12 ducklings we picked up... yesterday... the one day I wasn't home and doing a head count every two hours! Go figure!
Wondering how severe everyone else has learned these lessons. We're thinking we will have Mr. Goose living up at the barn, ideally he can notify me if things are amiss. We aren't going to attempt a fancy breeding project this year. We intend on picking up some good mixed heritage breed hens at chesterville to hopefully have some broody ones next year and buy some chantecler eggs for a lesser cost. For the duck house by the pond, we've bought a dozen muscovy ducklings which are in the brooder and we think we should pick up an adult pair of large geese for down there.
We really don't want to give up on free ranging. We are doing this for our own food, to provide for ourselves and while I can accept the occasional loss it was SUCH waste and so senseless. We filled a rubbermaid bin and didn't find everyone. The ducks were just dead, all in a row maybe a yard or two apart. Lifeless but looking unharmed. We're worried she'll come back. but have been promised she will be tied. Would love tips on things we can do. First rule, Nothing goes Out if I'm not going to be home all day (6 days a week, I am, and will be). Thoughts appreciated... sorry again for the long post, just feeling a little lost and bewildered and a little like giving up! We are doing this to feed our family with food raised the right way. It was a joy to watch these guys all grow, and while we'd accepted their fate this was something we were not prepared for. There is no doubt what happened. It was broad day light and the dog was sleeping on our porch with blood on her face... Tips, thoughts, added security ideas while still allowing a degree of freedom?