California - Northern

[Happy Chooks]

Whatever it is came back. It got Betty (I literally keep crying my eyes out) and one of my Buff Orps. I'm so angry and so tired and so sad right now.

I'm so sorry Amy, I know Betty was super special to you. I hope you figure out what it is, and can stop it. My bet would be on a fox or bobcat since it's hunting during the day.

So sorry that you lost more birds!

It was a bad week in N CA chickenland.

We lost our biggest and best Langshan roo Gandalf this past week. He didn't go into the trailer coop at the farm one evening. My friend's kids didn't notice that he wasn't in there (it's a huge trailer) and they found him dead outside the coop in the morning. He didn't have any marks on him so they aren't sure how he died. He was the only white roo we had. I originally didn't plan on breeding whites but he was such a lovely hunk of a bird that I changed my plans. Now we are back to BBS only.

I'm so sorry for you also.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Whatever it is came back. It got Betty (I literally keep crying my eyes out) and one of my Buff Orps. I'm so angry and so tired and so sad right now.

Really sorry to hear that. Predators are coming down from the hills. My birds hate being locked up, but its for their protection...

Quote: Oh dear - I have a good imagination and I can almost picture that. Sometimes the hen will tell the chicks to be quiet when there is somebody else there, and sometimes after they have pipped they are quiet while they absorb the egg. Here's hoping for chicks tonight!

 

[ronott1]

My Oldest daughter cooked one of the Pita Pinta cockerels that I processed a couple of weeks ago.

Edited to add:

Cockerel looked like this at 14 weeks old:






She baked them in the oven as a whole body, so Broiler style. It is very tasty and tender. The Wing, drumstick and thigh have a lot of meat too. The skin was good as well. The Bresse skin was not a hit but my daughter really liked the Pita Pinta skin.

 

[chicksnthestiks]

So sorry to hear of everyone's losses. Hope you catch the culprits!

 

[lawatt]

my condolences, Amy! that was me earlier this summer! although, for what it's worth, my predator (bobcat) has since moved on, after the chickens spent about a month without free-ranging. hope yours moves on quickly, too!!

 

[tommysgirl]

Does she look flat enough for day 21 which it officially is now??? She is totally covering all 7 but somehow I was imagining wall to wall feathers in the nestbox...which is about 18 by 15

She is an Australorp but hatchery and not so big...bigger than a red star smaller than my BQ Del and Choc Rock pullets as well as my HQ Speckled sussex pullet

 

[ronott1]

Does she look flat enough for day 21 which it officially is now??? She is totally covering all 7 but somehow I was imagining wall to wall feathers in the nestbox...which is about 18 by 15

She is an Australorp but hatchery and not so big...bigger than a red star smaller than my BQ Del and Choc Rock pullets as well as my HQ Speckled sussex pullet

Yes, they look like that at the when the chicks are ready to hatch.

 

[PetRock]

My Oldest daughter cooked one of the Pita Pinta cockerels that I processed a couple of weeks ago.

Edited to add:

Cockerel looked like this at 14 weeks old:






She baked them in the oven as a whole body, so Broiler style. It is very tasty and tender. The Wing, drumstick and thigh have a lot of meat too. The skin was good as well. The Bresse skin was not a hit but my daughter really liked the Pita Pinta skin.

So one of these is a Pita PInta and the other is a Bresse? How did the taste of the meat compare? I am not a skin eater so that will not be a breed determining factor for me!

 

[debs_flock]

She baked them in the oven as a whole body, so Broiler style. It is very tasty and tender. The Wing, drumstick and thigh have a lot of meat too. The skin was good as well. The Bresse skin was not a hit but my daughter really liked the Pita Pinta skin.

I can't think of poultry skin I don't like. Frankly, you could give me the skin and keep all the meat!

Including at Thanksgiving, a piece of turkey skin, a spoonful of dressing with some gravy and I'm done! (not that I don't eat other stuff, but I could walk away after that).

 

[PetRock]

We had a scare yesterday evening! My flock free ranges in the backyard (1/3 acre yard) during the day but the broody mamas and chicks are in a separate part of the yard and the Pita Pintas are in the grow out aviary by the patio. I was on BYC at around 5 PM and heard a big commotion in the yard. I sent Monet out to see what was happening. She came running back in and said that there was a hawk up in the tree eating something. We ran out there and sure enough, it was a Cooper's Hawk up in our Deodar Cedar tree. It was eating something and when it flew away, dark feathers floated down out of the tree. I was sure that the hawk had gotten one of the chicks. They are kept at night in a secure area under the coop and allowed to range the small garden area during the day. There are plenty of places for them to hide. We found 1 mama huddled in the secure area with all of the chicks and the other mama was on alert outside the door. When I counted chicks, there were only 5 instead of 6. We were so sad to think that we had lost one. Since it was around 5, I decided to put the other mama in the area and lock the door. I stuck her in there and mama 1 went crazy. It was almost like she was saying, "It is your job to be on look out! What are you doing in here?!" All of the chicks started running around and I suddenly noticed that there were six of them! Mama 1 is a BW Ameraucan who is raising 3 boys, 2 marans farm mixes and 1 Bresse. Mama 2 is a Coronation Sussex who is raising 2 Bresse boys and 1 hopefully female marans mix. When I recounted, there were 3 white chicks and 3 black with brown chicks! We were so relieved! The hawk must have caught a song bird. Maybe it was a mockingbird. We hope it wasn't our resident fly catcher because we like how he helps us keep the fly population under control! I know that letting them free range means we risk losing some but I am so glad that it didn't happen yesterday!