Recent content by SamLockwood

  1. SamLockwood

    Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

    That's a cute sentiment but these are animals we're talking about, not the Cherokee. Plus, the OP mentioned they put a fence up so your shark analogy really doesn't work. Essentially, it's like saying "if you didn't want to have your house burglarized you shouldn't keep such nice stuff in it!"...
  2. SamLockwood

    Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

    "Nocturnal" is really a preference, it's not mandatory for them. Although it's infrequent, I've gotten daytime "visits" from raccoons, opossums, owls, coyotes, and a bobcat.
  3. SamLockwood

    How long did it take?

    It depends on if you let her raise the chicks or not. They tend to stay in "mommy mode" until the chicks are fully feathered and not lay any eggs. I've seen some have a partial molt after they get done mothering. Some snap right back after a week or two, others won't lay for up to six weeks. A...
  4. SamLockwood

    Is this a rooster?

    If they're raised by an adult rooster young cockerels tend to be a lot more passive, and you've definitely got a boy there. A hen's comb won't usually redden until they're ready to lay at 5 to 6 months old. Plus, he's got the distinctive hackle and saddle-feathers, and his tail-feathers are...
  5. SamLockwood

    Persistent Owl

    While you're not allowed to injure them or destroy their nests, you are allowed to annoy and harrass them. The motion activated sprinker isn't a bad idea. I always have an air-horn ready if they decide to lurk around while I'm outside (assuming my birds haven't run them off). I'd keep them...
  6. SamLockwood

    What is this animal, is it dangerous?

    As others noted, it looks like a young woodchuck or groundhog to me. It's not dangerous by itself but if it's getting in there so can lots of other less pleasant things.
  7. SamLockwood

    Does this really work for predator proofing?

    I've only heard of them at being effective in daytime, for things like hawks, and only temporarily.
  8. SamLockwood

    Poll: Do high-value treats turn your chickens into savages?

    There's the usual pecking order reinforcement, but nobody gets that out of sorts since I tend to spread the scratch feed out over a pretty wide area. After a minute or two of chaos the flock sorts itself out and everyone peacefully munches away.
  9. SamLockwood

    Is this a terrible idea?

    If they were raised togther for 4 months they'll have likely bonded and consider themselves a flock and you'll have the usual problems integrating strangers with them. In general chickens don't like strangers or strangeness of any kind, and often respond aggressively to newcomers. The only time...
  10. SamLockwood

    Daytime Preds

    Since I improved the coops and run and started free ranging, I've only had predator losses in daytime. The first year was awful: I had 7 losses to predation (4 chickens to a bobcat, 2 guineas to a coyote, 1 pullet to a hawk, and one chicken probably to a coyote). Year two went better in some...
  11. SamLockwood

    Guinea keets!

    I definitely would have done things differently with the first generation. The biggest issues I had were in the first 18.months. AFter that, the biggest difficulty is if I introduced new birds to the flock: the guinea hens don't like any strangers, even other guineas. Oddly, if I let the...
  12. SamLockwood

    Questions about lockdown

    From experience, you're going to have to accept you're going to lose a significant portion of the hatch: I've had power interruptions a couple of times and it always causes problems. I wouldn't worry of the egg turner worked or didn't a day or two early or late. I haven't seen that be as big a...
  13. SamLockwood

    Bloody Egg Struggling to Hatch

    Some hens are not good mothers. Other times they don't like what they see in a hatching egg or hatchling and abandon it or even kill it Remember that while they look cute and fluffy they are actually tiny dinosaurs and sometimes your backyard chickens act out scenes from Jurassic Park. On the...
  14. SamLockwood

    Guinea keets!

    It might. It might also give your chickens some guinea tendencies, which may or may not be a good thing depending on how much tolerance you have for guinea fowl quirks. Guineas are very territorial, much more group oriented, and more aggressive than than chickens. How well they get along with...
  15. SamLockwood

    Not sure whats going on with my hen

    That was my first thought. Some of them get really weird the first time they get broody. One youngest hens got broody for the first time this summer, and any time she left the nesting box she was puffed up to the point she looked like she grew spikes and growled constantly if anything got near her.
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