BYC Café

[CapricornFarm]

Yep, we do. Yesterday it was 40mph and that wasn't all that odd. Until we lived here, I didn't know how tired of the wind a person could get. Reminds me of those old settler stories where people would go nuts being out in the wind all the time.
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It is windy here most of the time. And if it's not windy, it seems creepy! So quiet.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I think the hummingbirds left to fly south, as our regulars went missing yesterday. I have not seen any today either. We will miss them.

 

[pennyJo1960]

like how the breeze flows here we always have a breeze between the old Shasta trailer and the barn when we get wind it usually comes from the east

 

[Meg-in-MT]

How many do you lose from a clutch on average? I'm a bit surprised you lose chicks when the hens are still caring for them. I tend to lose the hen and not the chicks.

This is the first year that I've really let them sit and hatch, so I don't really have an average to speak of. Two of the three chicks I lost were still with moms. One was with the brahma, and both chicks get pretty far away from her so I imagine she was too slow to do anything about it. Maybe she was on the wrong side of the fence. I just don't know. The other one could've been left outside by the hen, as I'd shooed the chick back into the coop when mom left it outside three different times (she had two) I've since taken her other one away and put it with the chicks I got from the hatchery. Out of the five that were hatched in May, four made it to weaning and are still alive. I wish I could tell you what happened to that one, but Cat, more than likely.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

I think a little of it has to do with how much an animal has to deal with predators or threats. Kind of like a stray dog that runs around the roadways is pretty savvy when it comes to vehicles, but my dogs will step right in front of them. They are comfortable and know that no one around there will hurt them so they aren't as worried. They have their instincts, of course, but not as fine tuned.

 

[Shadrach]

like how the breeze flows here we always have a breeze between the old Shasta trailer and the barn when we get wind it usually comes from the east

Get a nice breeze here most of the year. It mostly blows from the South and it's strongest in the afternoon. If it blows from the NorthWest then you need to start nailing stuff down.

 

[N F C]

I made a pot of coffee for anyone else having a case of afternoon slumps.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

I made a pot of coffee for anyone else having a case of afternoon slumps.

Me! Thank you!

 

[N F C]

Me! Thank you!

Anytime Meg!

 

[Shadrach]

This is the first year that I've really let them sit and hatch, so I don't really have an average to speak of. Two of the three chicks I lost were still with moms. One was with the brahma, and both chicks get pretty far away from her so I imagine she was too slow to do anything about it. Maybe she was on the wrong side of the fence. I just don't know. The other one could've been left outside by the hen, as I'd shooed the chick back into the coop when mom left it outside three different times (she had two) I've since taken her other one away and put it with the chicks I got from the hatchery. Out of the five that were hatched in May, four made it to weaning and are still alive. I wish I could tell you what happened to that one, but Cat, more than likely.

It sounds harsh but you have to accept a lot of chicks wont make it free ranging.
I know I've written this before because I can still recall some of the outrage but I don't worry over much about the chicks; it's the loss of a hen that upsets me.
Despite the impression some might get from my posts, the chickens here are quite feral now and it seems that each generation deal with the predators better than the generation before. They still die, but if they lived I would be killing them because I can only cope with so many. What one does notice is the chickens, mums, dads, chicks, all use cover much more than they did when I first came here.