Recent content by Echolalia

Yay, this thread came along just when I needed it. Here's a picture of my new dog, Alice. She's nearly 6 months old and we got her from the SPCA. Alice obviously has some Australian Cattle Dog in her but the rest is a mystery? Now the question: how do I dial down the intensity of her interest in...

Are they edible? I've heard that they carry all sorts of nasty diseases and parasites that people can catch, so I'd be afraid to dress one even if I knew how. http://www.livestrong.com/article/89830-diseases-raccoons-can-spread-humans/

No joke ... when you happen upon SF raccoons they just look at you with equal measures of boredom & distain with just the slightest hint of "I'm going to rearrange your face if you keep looking at me". Animal Control will pick them up, but they just release them later, probably in GG park ...

So sorry about your roo. Poor little guy didn't deserve to go out like that. There are no words for how much I hate raccoons Did you know that they're now a problem in Europe because some idiot thought that they'd make a great quarry for hunters and imported them? Fracking moron.

All things said, neighbors got a hell of a show last night, watching me administer a raccoon beatdown with a little red wagon, a shovel and a whole lot of cussing. I got a few good blows in; hopefully that raccoon has a massive headache and sore ribs today. Unfortunately, you cannot shoot...

Truth be told, I haven't been doing a very dilligent job of locking the girls up at night. I haven't seen a raccoon around here in years, so I got complacent. I locked up everything tight last night and will do so from here on in. All things considered, I got off easy. Sparrow is a little sore...

I heard screaming, growling, clucking noises in my yard and ran down to investigate. Horrid raccoons! One of them broke into my hen house and tried to drag my hen Sparrow away. In my rage, I threw my son's little red wagon at it a la "Hulk smash! style. Did a headcount at the henhouse and when...

My chickens will definitely eat provence lavender, russian sage, yarrow & lantana. They might not eat a more mature plant - these were all one gallon plants that I put in the ground. There is a Japanese dimestore chain (DAISO) that sells these things called "Kitty, No!" They're spiky strips that...

Another thing to consider is that chickens are social creatures that need the company of other chickens. S/he's probably pretty lonely when you're at school. You better tell your mom now, so that you can get to work finding a buddy for Penny

Will my chickens get along with other animals? When it comes to cats and dogs, the answer is that frequently it depends on the age of the chickens and the age of the other animals. Baby chicks are, unfortunately, very enticing for cats and dogs. Everything about them at that age screams...

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I've noticed my 3 slightly older pullets (I raised them together) will sneak up behind my two younger BR pullets and yank their tail feathers. They're not going as far as to deliberately pluck them out - they just seem to enjoy startling the youngsters & getting them to squawk. I've seen one of...

Today I got 3 eggs out of 4 (possibly) 5 layers. This is a bit unusual; lately I've been averaging 2 a day, but a couple of weeks ago it was 3 a day. I wonder if I'm beginning to see a reduction in egg production because of the increasingly shorter days. I live in San Francisco so I'm not sure...

Tho one on the right looks like a Welsummer egg. They lay a lovely speckly brown egg that can be as dark as the color of cocoa powder.

Quote: What a strange, random thing to happen! Poor birds! And given that there were 2,500 in the truck, chances are that they were spent hens on their way to the soup factory. Poor things never caught a single break in their little lives. Sad. Hopefully the survivors will be adopted and...