California - Northern

[Ali707]

He's watching you. That's scary!! Better carry something with you, a heavy walking stick or sonething. Me...I would be at my window with a BB gun. Not to kill it but to make sure he knew I meant business! BAD KITTY!!

BAD KITTY is right! Too funny. (Not funny the kitty is being bad though. Don't get me wrong. I would be greatly saddened by this inconvenient truth of nature) You know most kitties don't give a rip if they are being bad. Unlike dogs who at least have the decency to look ashamed when scolded.

Chicken waterer near miss!

Went out to check for eggs this afternoon and was surprised at how quiet they were being. After checking for eggs, I watched them for a while and happened to notice that below their waterer (5 gallon bucket with three chicken nipples on the bottom) the sand was completely dry. Normally there is a wet patch from all the drops of water that don't make it in their mouths. I went in the coop and messed with all the nipples and barely got enough water out to make my fingers damp. Since I had just refilled the bucket with water this weekend I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I took the bucket lid off to check the water level, and found the bucket almost completely full. The water was clear and the nipples didn't look clogged or anything. I wiggled the nipples again and water came right out like it normally does!

Turns out that when I refilled it, I sealed the lid a little too well. The water couldn't come out because there wasn't any way for air to get in and replace the water that was leaving through the nipples. We've been using this waterer for months without any problems prior to this.

All six hens guzzled water as soon as the problem was solved. Hopefully they all make it. I will be drilling a tiny hole at the top of the bucket to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Good thing you noticed they were acting odd. I have the same type waterer. But I drilled a giant hole in the top so I could just stick the hose in for easy fill up. I get very little debris in it and clean it every weekend or every other if I am feeling exceptionally lazy. It works really well for me. Really easy to clean too.

 

[OR4-hmom]

I just snuck a quick peek at a few basque eggs, Veins in at least 4, 1may be a Pita egg, large and lighter than the others.

 

[lawatt]

I'm sorry. I hope you can get your hen out from under the house - and I hope your pullet is hiding up in a tree and will come down to get in the safety of the coop. I hope your hen isn't injured - chickens will loose a major amount of feathers when they are pounced on even if they aren't grabbed - its a defense mechanism to leave the predator with a mouth full of feathers instead of them.

I think you are right - all free-ranging suspended, and I would double check the safety of the run/coop as well - below ground level to overhead. Sounds like Mz Bobcat thought she found the all-day diner, it will be harder to discourage her now.

thanks -- isbar pullet never turned up, basque is alive but looking awfully shocky, i'm not sure she'll make it to tomorrow. but the coops are secure -- hardware cloth from the roofline down to below the soil, and well hammered on. the chickens will be pouting, though, when they can't get out to run around. too bad for them, i'm determined now.

He's watching you. That's scary!! Better carry something with you, a heavy walking stick or sonething. Me...I would be at my window with a BB gun. Not to kill it but to make sure he knew I meant business! BAD KITTY!!

he is most likely a she, and i'm not worried for my own safety -- i went out at dusk to see if the isbar was around and ms. bobcat was back, nosing around the big pile of feathers the basque left behind -- she loped off the moment i got anywhere near. but she's definitely watching for another opportunity for a tasty snack -- so the snacks are on lockdown for a while.

 

[chrissyr]

So so

thanks -- isbar pullet never turned up, basque is alive but looking awfully shocky, i'm not sure she'll make it to tomorrow.  but the coops are secure -- hardware cloth from the roofline down to below the soil, and well hammered on.  the chickens will be pouting, though, when they can't get out to run around.  too bad for them, i'm determined now.


he is most likely a she, and i'm not worried for my own safety -- i went out at dusk to see if the isbar was around and ms. bobcat was back, nosing around the big pile of feathers the basque left behind -- she loped off the moment i got anywhere near.  but she's definitely watching for another opportunity for a tasty snack -- so the snacks are on lockdown for a while.

so sorry about the bobcat
Was wondering: if you have a bobcat killing your livestock (not sure if they consider chickens valuable enough) you should be able to get a permit to get rid of it. The main reason is it IS watching you and keeps stalking your property. It's looking for something and even though it runs now, it eventually may not. Tell them it won't leave and your worried about your family's safety. They should do SOMETHING.

 

[Flowers of Abba]

I just snuck a quick peek at a few basque eggs, Veins in at least 4, 1may be a Pita egg, large and lighter than the others.

ah! Pita pinta are on my "itch list" . Perhaps in the spring. Are they truly sweeter than most? or is that a rumor spread by Pits lovers?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

he is most likely a she, and i'm not worried for my own safety -- i went out at dusk to see if the isbar was around and ms. bobcat was back, nosing around the big pile of feathers the basque left behind -- she loped off the moment i got anywhere near. but she's definitely watching for another opportunity for a tasty snack -- so the snacks are on lockdown for a while.

Bobcat will flee when seeing an adult person

 

[ronott1]

ah! Pita pinta are on my "itch list" . Perhaps in the spring. Are they truly sweeter than most? or is that a rumor spread by Pits lovers?

Deb says Pita Pintas are in the US but I could find no trace of them. The ones I hatched last year are the only ones I could find and Megan has them.

So far they are very sweet. Time and more flocks of them will tell.

 

[lawatt]

So so
so sorry about the bobcat
Was wondering: if you have a bobcat killing your livestock (not sure if they consider chickens valuable enough) you should be able to get a permit to get rid of it. The main reason is it IS watching you and keeps stalking your property. It's looking for something and even though it runs now, it eventually may not. Tell them it won't leave and your worried about your family's safety. They should do SOMETHING.

I appreciate the sympathy, but no thank you -- if i was a rancher who's livelihood *depended* on my livestock, then i'm sure i'd feel differently -- but i don't NEED these chickens, and they don't NEED to free-range -- but a bobcat needs to eat. it's just going after an easy meal when it's offered, even though that's not my intention -- and the solution is the keep the chickens in their runs for a good long while.

if i had small children, i might feel differently too, but i don't. the bobcat is not going to hurt me, it's just hunting. it's my attitude (and i'm not advocating that anyone else share it!) that i'd rather try to adapt to living in a relatively natural landscape, than try to force it to comply with my wishes. especially since if this bobcat is removed, some other predator will likely take its place anyway -- that doesn't solve anything. the chicken losses these past two weeks are telling me something about my poultry management, if i'm smart enough to listen.

I've had chickens free-ranging for over a year in this same spot, and these past two weeks are the first time i've had ANY predator trouble. the bobcat is most likely a nursing mother who's looking for food for her kittens, since non-parenting bobcats hunt over a HUGE range & wouldn't be here so frequently. sometime this fall her kittens will be grown & she won't be "resident" any more. i can wait.

 

[OR4-hmom]

The eggs are from Megan and I'm not positive it is a PP but I didn't see a "B" on it. I just wanted to get them under the ladies when I got them home that night. The PO called to say they were in at 8 am but I couldn't get away until 3:30 to pick them up, then I put them on the concrete flor to try and keep them cooler until I could get home.

I don't know about the PP as a breed but I really enjoy the basque girls (2 of the 3 boys have become biters). If it is a PP egg and it makes it to hatch I guess I'll find out.

I really need some time at home to get rid of all the little roos around here. Mornings are beginning to sound like a crowing contest! DD wants to take the worst offender to Salem next week for state fair.

 

[chiqita]

Fish and game agrees with laura.

I talked to them about ours and asked what it would take to get a trap and release permit.

She said that they are not possible to get for the average Joe regardless of loss. Especially when she has kits (they are only issued in the time of year they dont) if you have evidence of it attacking a human it gets taken out of your hands anyway.

My chick with the swollen wing is still around! Its wing is almost back to normal.

For future reference they don't call it baby aspirin but low dose aspirin. And does anyone know of a brand that dissolves in water? Getting it in that chick was interesting.

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

So so
so sorry about the bobcat
Was wondering: if you have a bobcat killing your livestock (not sure if they consider chickens valuable enough) you should be able to get a permit to get rid of it. The main reason is it IS watching you and keeps stalking your property. It's looking for something and even though it runs now, it eventually may not. Tell them it won't leave and your worried about your family's safety. They should do SOMETHING.