California - Northern

[lualshannon]

lost another pullet to some sort of predator this morning, while they were out free-ranging first thing in the morning -- there's a pile of greyish feathers in my garden and an isbar missing. after losing an isbar/marans cross last week. i may have to stop letting them free-range for a while.

and that leaves me with only a trio of isbars, plus one isbar/marans. may have to get some more hatching eggs...

Hello Lawatt, I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your pullet. I know what a sad and terrible experience it is.

Two weeks ago, I lost my very loved, head rooster to a bobcat which was a horrific experience. He put up a big fight, saved the flock but, lost his life. We live very close to SSU and never had bobcats for the 26yrs. we lived here. The attack took place 2:30 pm. in the afternoon, and I came face to face with the cat. Since then, we sat live trap and snares but no luck. Have been busy clearing all the bushes and low lying trees, and have the gun near by at all times, and the birds are able to free range only when I can be outside with them. Also, now we know what happened to our pullet last month where she disappeared into thin air.

Friends who live on the S.M., as well as at the Zen Center, experiencing more sightings and problems with bobcats, foxes and raccoons. Many believe that the Indian Casino which is being built on 254 acres in Rohnert Park is forcing the wildlife out of that area which was like a sanctuary.

 

[lawatt]

Hello Lawatt, I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your pullet. I know what a sad and terrible experience it is.

Two weeks ago, I lost my very loved, head rooster to a bobcat which was a horrific experience. He put up a big fight, saved the flock but, lost his life. We live very close to SSU and never had bobcats for the 26yrs. we lived here. The attack took place 2:30 pm. in the afternoon, and I came face to face with the cat. Since then, we sat live trap and snares but no luck. Have been busy clearing all the bushes and low lying trees, and have the gun near by at all times, and the birds are able to free range only when I can be outside with them. Also, now we know what happened to our pullet last month where she disappeared into thin air.

Friends who live on the S.M., as well as at the Zen Center, experiencing more sightings and problems with bobcats, foxes and raccoons. Many believe that the Indian Casino which is being built on 254 acres in Rohnert Park is forcing the wildlife out of that area which was like a sanctuary.

I seriously doubt the casino has much to do with it -- i remember reports of a mama bobcat + kittens on SSU's campus (where i work) several years ago, before any construction started on the casino site. and i'm high enough up on Sonoma Mtn. that i'm right next to Fairfield Osborn Preserve, as well as the edge of Jack London State Park, which covers the whole eastern side of the mountain. there are lots of wild animals that live up/around here, and i accept that they have a right to be here -- i'm not planning to trap or shoot at the bobcat, because i'm the one living in its territory, not the other way around. I'm just going to have to adapt my practices.

 

[lualshannon]

You are living way up on the mountain, and correct! you are in their territory!
I live in the valley where families have been living since the early 19th. century.

 

[Nikon]

Mt Shasta/ dunsmuir

Ah poop. Nice up there but that's a 3 hour drive for me. Prob best I don't come home with any more chickens.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

Ah poop. Nice up there but that's a 3 hour drive for me. Prob best I don't come home with any more chickens.

Ya I really want some CCLs and found 2 ppl that have them but are 3-4 hours away too

 

[lawatt]

You are living way up on the mountain, and correct! you are in their territory!
I live in the valley where families have been living since the early 19th. century.

true -- but the presence of human families doesn't necessarily mean the absence of predator families. the reality is that all of california is habitat for creatures like bobcats -- my own approach is, I'm supposedly a smart person, i'd better figure out a way to live within that reality, rather than trying to make the wildlife behave the way i want them to -- because that's not a fight i'm going to win.

plus, predators play an incredibly vital role in any ecosystem, and too many ecosystems are hopelessly screwed up due to a shortage or lack of predators -- that's why we have ridiculous numbers of deer and (non-native) wild turkeys, to the point where they become pests -- and why gophers plague so many fields in astronomical numbers. the last thing our local ecosystem needs is even fewer predators.

but each to their own. my chickens can live with free-ranging less often.

 

[Happy Chooks]

oh no -- mystery solved, it is the bobcat -- he just got Daisy, my beautiful black australorp and best layer. i'm just heartbroken.

I'm so sorry. Bobcats are very sneaky and can climb too.

Hi ok anyone want to venture a guess whether this 2 month old is a pullet or a cockerel?

The one on the left with a tail.

Looks like a pullet.

Quote: Maybe Nikon could pick up your CCL's and meet you half way for the Brahmas. That way you both would only be driving 1 1/2 hours.

 

[8machines]

Does anyone feed their chickens oatmeal? I am adding oatmeal, Omega egg powder, and a probiotic powder to my chicken mash. I will have some sunflowers soon. Anything else? I decided I'm too busy to make fermented food.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, I feed my chickens cooked oatmeal in the winter. Raw milk, if you can find a source, is fantastic for probiotics.

 

[chickee]

Does anyone feed their chickens oatmeal? I am adding oatmeal, Omega egg powder, and a probiotic powder to my chicken mash. I will have some sunflowers soon. Anything else? I decided I'm too busy to make fermented food.

Yes, mine get a few handfuls of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats sprinkled on the ground every morning. They LOVE it! Great source of B vitamins.