Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fancychooklady]

Just as a woman experiences physical chances at menopause, the hen adopts masculine behavior when the levels of estrogen are disrupted. However there is no scientific evidence that these hens could insaminate another hen. There by , not really a true' sex change '.

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/spontaneous-sex-reversal-hen-just-become-rooster/

 

[Fancychooklady]

We gave her a little aspirin last night as we were treating her wound yesterday.  I flushed it with saline and sprayed it with terramycin.  This morning she was eating and drinking, if quiet.  I did notice that the little pullet whose brooder I chucked her in (mostly for lack of anywhere else to put her) was starting to peck at her wound so I will remove her to something else today and give her another spray and another round of aspirin.

So far so good.  One chicken still missing.

I haven't let the chickens out again this morning yet - I'm making them wait until I am fully awake and dressed, ready to run out there and defend them should the fox come back.  I've moved my computer to the big picture window at the back of my house which gives me a view out into the yard.  Hopefully I can even get a little work done today. D:

The council gave me a possum trap that they wanted me to try catching the fox in - however, the fox is at least twice the size of the trap.  It's huge. That's just not happening.

Oh you poor thing. It's very unnerving to have your flock under threat like that and unfortunately deep down you know that he will be back. Trapping is probably the kindest option. Bringing in dogs to scare the fox off might be another. My sister inlaw and her hubby shot more than 50 foxes on their property and still haven't put a dent in the fox population. I'm glad we don't have foxes in Tassie. I have enough problems with birds of prey. I haven't been able to let the youngsters out for over a week because I went out to find a swamp harrier on top of the water tank coop they live in. Poor things were scared stiff.
Keep up the good work with the first aid. Be sure to irrigate it good, lord knows what kind of bacteria was on the fangs of that fox.

 

[tandykins]

Oh you poor thing. It's very unnerving to have your flock under threat like that and unfortunately deep down you know that he will be back. Trapping is probably the kindest option. Bringing in dogs to scare the fox off might be another. My sister inlaw and her hubby shot more than 50 foxes on their property and still haven't put a dent in the fox population. I'm glad we don't have foxes in Tassie. I have enough problems with birds of prey. I haven't been able to let the youngsters out for over a week because I went out to find a swamp harrier on top of the water tank coop they live in. Poor things were scared stiff.
Keep up the good work with the first aid. Be sure to irrigate it good, lord knows what kind of bacteria was on the fangs of that fox.

Thankfully we live in a village so 50 foxes aren't likely to be a big concern. I just keep hearing about this one very large fox running around town - the one I saw in my yard last night was literally the biggest fox I have ever seen. If I hadn't gotten such a good look at it that I wasn't 100% sure that it was absolutely a fox, I'd have thought that it must be someone's dog.

I'm keeping my chickens in this morning until I'm absolutely certain that I'm awake enough to run out and defend them.

 

[satay]

Oh you poor thing. It's very unnerving to have your flock under threat like that and unfortunately deep down you know that he will be back. Trapping is probably the kindest option. Bringing in dogs to scare the fox off might be another. My sister inlaw and her hubby shot more than 50 foxes on their property and still haven't put a dent in the fox population. I'm glad we don't have foxes in Tassie. I have enough problems with birds of prey. I haven't been able to let the youngsters out for over a week because I went out to find a swamp harrier on top of the water tank coop they live in. Poor things were scared stiff.
Keep up the good work with the first aid. Be sure to irrigate it good, lord knows what kind of bacteria was on the fangs of that fox.

We have foxes here to and have lost a lot of turkeys too them. My pens are fox proof but the turkeys decide they are not staying in their pens but heading down the back to lay. I have never been able to catch one in a trap. We have not lost one to a fox since we have had the sheep.

 

[MyHaven]

Hi @Teila , Rosy reminded me this morning I hadn't yet responded to your question a while back. Yes I still have Rosy. I'm sure I know where she's come from but I never see the people - they must feel on a different time frame from me. There is about a dozen chickens including roosters at the deserted property - still obviously looked after while they develop the block.

She takes a piece of me every time I enter the run. This morning she grabbed my pj's and swung off them. She draws blood often. She is behaving like a defending roo.

Sorry it took awhile to respond, I got side tracked, my car was flooded at the train station during the May 1st storm. Those Falcons can float "kinda", who would have thought.

Thankfully my house and girls were high and dry.

A little while ago now, how did you get on.

Cheers

 

[MyHaven]

Maremma dogs are good for foxes - they aren't bothered by the fox spray in their faces when they chase them - but there can be a down side with them too.

 

[SherrieC]

Never heard an old wives tale with that sort of content......and I took it as an unwarranted "age" put down, uncheracteristic of this thread.

One of the criteria I applied in selecting the breed was its reputation for tolerating cold weather. From day one they have quit laying early May and will not restart till Spring kicks in. A collegue has suggested adding chilli flakes to their rice feed....not sure about that.

I fed mine some chopped fresh red chillies in a bowl the other day and they went crazy over it.

 

[SherrieC]

We had a bird of prey circling my yard yesterday arvo which has me nervous! We do have a pair of wedge tails that live locally but it wasn't them as it looked smaller and I have never seen them go over our house, they seem more interested in the farmland.

I know we have a fox nearby also as its attacked my neighbours chooks as well as the schools chooks but I haven't seen it. I don't think it would be around during the day as we are not on a big property and have a school directly across the road and plenty of neighbours.

 

[1340busa]

thanks. Here in the state of Georgia, the county I live in bans backyard chickens. You have to have at least 5 acres to have backyard chickens. There are a lot of people wanting to fight this. Seems as though there are a lot of people that want to grow their own food and raise their own poultry. We are about 30 miles north west of Atlanta Georgia. Hopefully enough can join together and win this fight for backyard chickens. I live in a small neighborhood out in the country on a half an acre. Didn't know about the zoning laws before I got the chickens. So far I have been safe. My neighbors don't mind, especially since I give them fresh eggs. Anyway, enough rambling. Have a BLESSED day.

I have good news. Here in Paulding county Georgia as of April 28th, 2015, backyard chickens are now legal as follows:

1. Backyard chickens. The keeping of a female pullet or hen of the Gallus gallus domesticus (roosters prohibited) which may be used for the purpose of providing food or companionship as a pet, considering the following minimum conditions:
a. The backyard chickens shall not cause a nuisance, as defined by Animal Control Ordinance Sections 14-10 and 14-11.
b. Backyard chickens are prohibited from slaughter and/or breeding purposes
c. All backyard chickens must be housed in a coop no larger than 100 square feet in size that is enclosed on all sides including the top. (Tarps, plastic or similar covering are prohibited).
d. Backyard chicken coops must meet the following building setback requirements from front, rear and side property lines: Front: One-hundred (100) feet from a public right-of way, private drive or easement, and/or property line. (Includes properties with multiple road/street frontages). Side/Rear: Forty-five (45) feet from a property line.
e. The coop must be located in the back/rear yard and be a minimum distance of forty-five (45) feet from the owner’s residential dwelling.
f. Backyard chickens are not permitted to roam-at-large or to free-range.
g. There shall be a maximum of five (5) backyard chickens allowed.

I'm excited about this though I should have checked on this before I got my chickens. Thankfully I don't have to worry now. Just wanted to share the good news.

 

[K Spot]