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

[Deej211]

Look who was buzzing my duck dam this morning...the only bird in this country almost as large as a wedgie...its a juvenile white bellied sea eagle and given the size of it id say female. Huge thing. I knew their nest wasnt far away. I guess my dam is the new practice hunting ground

its a massive area. 6ft fence but way too large to cover. They have trees and coops in there. I hope they keep their eyes peeled today.

 

[mooandmcgee]

Look who was buzzing my duck dam this morning...the only bird in this country almost as large as a wedgie...its a juvenile white bellied sea eagle and given the size of it id say female. Huge thing. I knew their nest wasnt far away. I guess my dam is the new practice hunting ground

its a massive area. 6ft fence but way too large to cover. They have trees and coops in there. I hope they keep their eyes peeled today.

WOW! That's amazing!!!

 

[Fizzybelle]

Ooh, impressive bird Deej211, but I hope it stays away from your chookies!

 

[Fancychooklady]

We've had them here on our land for years, never taken a chicken, ( touch wood ) but they all but wiped out the domestic duck population. The juveniles can get themselves into trouble as they lack the experience of their parents, so keep an eye on him.

One of our resident sea eagles.

 

[User395221]

Ash I do not think I have ever seen a live ferret, just in books and on the television .. I am happy to keep it that way

Ferrets are quite nice pets, but they smell REALLY BAD (ferret owners say they don't, but I think something happens to their noses once they get them).

That eagle is very impressive. A bit scary when you think it might grab your pets, but impressive nonetheless.

Mabel is a great name.

 

[Chook Newby]

Well, we are close but not quite finished .. gave up on torch light construction when the mosquitoes invaded

Anyways, they did get to spend the first night in their new digs and I was surprised to see that Crystal [bottom of the pecking order] was the first to tackle the ramp. I did not have to coax or carry anyone up the ramp and they all managed to find the roost. There are two roosts in there which each easily hold 6 bantams. I thought they might spread over the two, but it was kinda cute and rewarding to see all 6 sitting on the higher roost with room still to spare.

We still have one more small door to put it and a window, finish the wiring, put some roosts in the run, add the human door and some final finishing touches.

PS: While I have never minded the morning routine of cleaning the coop floor; there was an extra big smile on my face this morning when I got to do it standing up and if they could talk, my knees definitely would have said thank you

The old and the new:

Wow! Thats an awesome hen house! Love it!

 

[Chook Newby]

Thanks @Anniebee , @Fancychooklady and EVERYONE for the great advice!!! Carla was a bit delicate today but she is doing well & is drinking her antibiotics like a champ. She still comes when I call her and so she hasn't lost her trust in me which is GREAT!!

Sadly after watching them today I have realised she is the lowest ranking chick out of the three of them. Now I am wishing I got four to even it out a bit

Why oh why do I ever listen to my partner.

That is great news Mooandmcgee! Im so glad to hear that Carla is on the path to recovery. And after reading that you think she is the lowest in the pecking order Im thinking she may become one very spoilt chicken

 

[LuckysMum]

Hi VK2HSV

Fancy Thanks for the advice my chooks free range, but I will get some extra calcium as well.

Teila Your coops looking amazing and so nice to see you've been able to watch them troop out. I make sure there's enough food left out just in case I can't get to let them out early enough.

Moandmcgee better to over engineer than have it fall down or need repairs to early. Its a sad fact of life that we have to get such small holes in our wiring to protect our littlies.

MyHaven so sad to hear about your chick. What ever got it must have been determined. I hope the rest weren't to upset by it.

Deej211 great pics so glad we don't have sea eagles as well.

 

[Deej211]

yes. the mum flies over every few months for a look but has never taken anything. pretty sure the last brood she raised is responible for the loss of a duckling 18mths ago, but apart from that nothing. til this cheeky one shows up. it did dive into the dam area but i was out back having a smoke and saw it so shouted at it and must have put it off. it landed in the tree and stayed watching me for a while, but i outlasted it. i figured the reason it was there was because it was still learning, im guessing they actually prefer prey other than turkeys and ducks?

 

[MyHaven]

Thanks everyone for your support. I knew I could count on you all. I don't know what could have happened to the chick. It was in the early afternoon while I was home. There were no foreign tracks in the dirt but any there could have been scratched out by the time I found her. It was a little too early to let the big chooks out for free range which is why I hadn't found her sooner. The way she was lying looked like she had been attacked from the other side of the wire.

On the night before last, I left a side door opened on my house and a cat got in and attacked my cat. I was at the vet first thing yesterday morning. She is chomped up a bit. She has lots of puncture wounds. I disturbed the intruder.

When I let the chooks out yesterday, I found scratching/digging attempts under the coop door. Not all the way through. Yes Mr Fox is giving it ago. The council only removed the trap two weeks ago. I haven't yet been able to try the climbing deterant that I learned. That will have to be prioritised. I'll also do a seperate post with details of that.

Maybe it was a fox that chomped my cat? Inside the house would be a stretch. But fox or cat could have followed her in if she'd taken advantage of an open door.

I don't think it was a fox that got the chick.

Ferrets - sorry, I hate anything ferrel running in our bush.

Beautiful eagle shots. Magnificent birds.