California - Northern

[tommysgirl]

So sad.

It probably was Jays. Nasty birds.

Thanks Ron. do you think putting curtains on the nest boxes will help?

 

[chickee]

Evil in the antler dimension! They are coming for you! and your plants.. and eggs...

They are dangerous this time of year when they are in rut. This guy was not about to leave his doe, so I kept a respectable distance.

beautiful

The bucks are so majestic. I am in awe when I see one with such big antlers!

I love deer

So do I

All of these guys were born on our property, so they are not afraid of us. It is neat to have them around, when they aren't eating all our plants!

i saw one get ran over today. 2nd one in a week. both where flopping around on the ground. I hate seeing that.

That is SO sad!! It is terrible to see animals get hit!

 

[ronott1]

Thanks Ron. do you think putting curtains on the nest boxes will help?

The curtains do seem to help from what others have posted.

Someone posted that they thought they had egg eating hens until the game cam showed the Blue Jays eating the eggs.

 

[alibra]

They are dangerous this time of year when they are in rut. This guy was not about to leave his doe, so I kept a respectable distance.

The bucks are so majestic. I am in awe when I see one with such big antlers! 

So do I    All of these guys were born on our property, so they are not afraid of us. It is neat to have them around, when they aren't eating all our plants! 

That is SO sad!! It is terrible to see animals get hit! 

I remember when I took my behind the wheel driving test I asked the examiner if anyone has ever ran over an animal when she was giving a test... She said no, & she'd "E-brake" them because she's neurotic about that stuff...

Maybe that wasn't the best way to break the ice....

HAHA!

 

[chrissyr]

So sad.

It probably was Jays. Nasty birds.

Oooh, I had those turds eat my eggs!! I think they were actually Scrub Jays. I thought I had to get rid of a hen or two. So I put a video camera out and BAM!! caught in the action. It was like Birds Gone Wild

What did stop them was on the outside of the coop (before the top was all covered in netting) My husband attached some of that plastic construction fencing to the exit. Hard to explain here but I'll try. So it was just one strip, from the outside wall of the coop down at like a 45 degree angle. The sides were open and the hens went around to get in. The birds never bothered again. I think that way it was too dangerous for them to get caught. Very easy

Look what was hanging out while I was watering this afternoon . . .

Aww, beautiful! I would love them around here but they'd probably eat all of my plants

 

[OR4-hmom]

We used to have three 5 point bucks that hung out behind our house, they were so beautiful.

I was running the chainsaw cutting up tree branches last week and a forked horn walked right up on me. He was so interested in the smells from the does he didn't even care that I was there. I also had a buck chase a does right in front of my car, thankfully I had already slowed down to watch him when he did it.

 

[Ali707]

i saw one get ran over today. 2nd one in a week. both where flopping around on the ground. I hate seeing that.

In the last couple of weeks I have seen a big increase in the number of dead animals on the roads. Lots of deer, racoons, skunks. So much so that it actually entered my awareness that there have been a lot lately.

 

[tommysgirl]

Oooh, I had those turds eat my eggs!! I think they were actually Scrub Jays. I thought I had to get rid of a hen or two. So I put a video camera out and BAM!! caught in the action. It was like Birds Gone Wild

What did stop them was on the outside of the coop (before the top was all covered in netting) My husband attached some of that plastic construction fencing to the exit. Hard to explain here but I'll try. So it was just one strip, from the outside wall of the coop down at like a 45 degree angle. The sides were open and the hens went around to get in. The birds never bothered again. I think that way it was too dangerous for them to get caught. Very easy

Thanks...we are trying to figure out a way to cover the run that won't look like poo. It is a former dog run so we made sure the coop itself is secure against predators but the darned Jays are really irritating me. For today maybe I will just take a feed sack and drape it over the top of the door and roof. can you send a photo of your run?

The curtains do seem to help from what others have posted.

Someone posted that they thought they had egg eating hens until the game cam showed the Blue Jays eating the eggs.

I remember last spring I thought I had egg eaters and someone said this too. You told me I probably only had opportunists and you were right. Turns out then I had brittle shells because I was feeding layer but no extra calcium corrected that problem and no more broken shells in the nests.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Yup, mating season. Lots of deer, skunks, raccoons dead on the road. I even saw an opossum the other night, alive, just cruising across the road.



My dog chased a couple of deer the other night in the dark. It wasn't too pleasing to hear the hopping sound they make and seeing the glowing eyes (I had a headlamp on) coming straight at you. I yelled at it and it switched direction.

 

[Audio51]

Fall and Spring seem to be the most active time for animals here too. I think the food sources are getting more scarce for a lot of them and they are venturing closer to people than they would otherwise.