calling any one from missouri

[CGinJCMO]

Quote: Our coon last night was almost cute...but so were my baby chicks with their mama and my son's ducks were kind of of cute too. Given the choice, I chose my chickens. If I had raised a baby coon, I might feel differently if he started killing my chickens. It would be like killing one of my cats for doing what they naturally do. I think my coon was also a juvenile...small...and thought he found an all-you-can-eat-buffet jackpot. Now that he's gone, as long as he didn't tell any of his raccoon family, I can try to rebuild my son's duck flock. Unfortunately that means starting over with ducklings because I'm not finding any adults (although quarinteeing adults would be difficult too).

CG

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Given the choice, I chose my chickens. If I had raised a baby coon, I might feel differently if he started killing my chickens.

Me too...choose my chickens, I mean. But I wouldn't feel differently if he started killing chickens. I had to put down a dog that I had since it was a puppy, because one day he suddenly went after the chickens and my goats (killed several kids, including some registered, in one day). And he was a livestock guardian breed at that (full Anatolian). It wasn't until later that I found out the bloodlines he came from tended to turn into killers, a few of which even went after their owners. As we took that final walk, he was being just as sweet and lovable as can be, like none of it ever happened. And as far as he was concerned, we were just having a nice walk through the woods, even up to the very end. It was hard to put him down, especially when he still had that silly grin on his face...but losing my stock was harder.

I have a beagle that I've raised with domestic rabbits. I let the rabbits run lose in the yard for days at a time and she has never tried to harm one, however she will go after wild rabbits, opossums, raccoons, snakes, etc.. The same with my Jack Russell. She doesn't bother any of the domestics, but wild things are fair game. There is not a wild rat that's safe when she's in the area, but when my middle son's pet rat got lose in the house one night, the JRT woke us up with her frantic barking. We found her standing in the middle of the living room, bouncing from one foot to the other and looking at the rat, which by that time was in the dining room. But she never took a step toward it. And both dogs will come over and look in the brooder boxes at the chicks/ducklings/quail/turkeys and never bother them, even when one gets out. But as much as I care about my dogs, if either one started killing the domestics, she would be put down, with no hesitation.

 

[CGinJCMO]

Quote:

I'm sorry about the LGD. I've heard so many good things about them.

Awesome about the beagle...not your typical "guardian".

CG

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

I'm sorry about the LGD. I've heard so many good things about them.

Awesome about the beagle...not your typical "guardian".

CG

A good LGD is worth it's weight in gold, IMHO. I've had a few over the years (Anatolians, Great Pyrenees, Komondor...), with my first also being an Anatolian. She was the guardian that I've measured all others by, and while I've had some great LGDs (such as the Pyrenees I have now), none have quite measured up to her.

Yes, the beagle is definitely not typical...in any sense of the word. For the longest time we thought she might have some sort of learning disability. Sometimes we still wonder, and she's 6 years old. My daughter (an Aspie, although not officially dx'd) is always saying the beagle is a dog version of herself. I got her (the beagle, not the daughter

) when she was only 4 weeks old (waaay too young to be weaned!), but my daughter and I felt sorry for her as she was the runt of a litter some guy was selling at a swap meet, and she had already developed cherry eye...and I've never regretted getting her.

 

[karenerwin]

Never relocate vermin. It's often illegal, puts your problem in someone else's backyard, promotes disease, causes the transplant to fight for new territory or supplant those in that new territory.

ETA
A transplant will not know where to find food and will more likely go after an easy meal like chickens. People all over have chickens.
Also, raccoons have huge territories so unless you're willing to drive a long distance, it will be back.

I'm not opposed to putting down pests, it is what I personally would do. I just thought relocating might be a solution. However, I do see your point.

 

[RedNeckRosie]

Bad day here went to go to breakfast something got into pen and coop killed all but three heads bitten off some look liked they just dropped very sad day , any idea on what it might have been

We had this happen several years ago, my husband's grandmother sias weaels, a ferret turned loose, she named off several critters. We set the live trap up, wired a piece of chicken in there and caught what HAD to be the oldest, roughest looking hoot owl we have ever seen! He'd pop their heads off and rinse and repeat the next night.

We relocated him down to a more rural part of the river and told his Grandma ... she got after us because apparently back in her younger years, hoot owls made darn good dumplins. She said we just didn't know what was good!

Not to mention, the owl is protected lol.

 

[RedNeckRosie]

Im tapping on an uncooperative tablet, I really can spell ... sorry.

 

[OzarkCountryGirl]

We had this happen several years ago, my husband's grandmother sias weaels, a ferret turned loose, she named off several critters. We set the live trap up, wired a piece of chicken in there and caught what HAD to be the oldest, roughest looking hoot owl we have ever seen! He'd pop their heads off and rinse and repeat the next night.

We relocated him down to a more rural part of the river and told his Grandma ... she got after us because apparently back in her younger years, hoot owls made darn good dumplins. She said we just didn't know what was good!

Not to mention, the owl is protected lol.

Owls will certainly snip their heads clean off. That's funny about Gma wanting to make dumplings out of it.

My great-granny was like that, too. But years ago people ate like that...or else it meant that they would go to be hungry. But now, though we still have people going to be hungry (like many of the older generation whose medical bills are often more each month then their entire SS check), the government says even fresh cows milk is dangerous, and in most places it's illegal to buy. I just don't know what this world is coming to...

Youngest son came in this morning and said the duck has gone broody. She's pulled feathers and lined a nest them. Unfortunately I don't have any eggs for her. I wanted to hatch out a couple of Exhibition Dewlap Toulouse geese, but like most geese, they tend to only lay very early in the year and so none are available now. Other than more ducks (which I really don't want at this time), what else would be good? I've thought about pea fowl, but I don't know of any place close to Mid-Missouri that has any, and I really don't want to have eggs shipped. Or maybe pheasant. But can a duck even successfully hatch out and brood pheasant?

 

[Sylviaanne]

I just ran across this thread and see that the last post was in 2008 and figured there might be more new people from Missouri.

We are south of Ozark, which is south of Springfield and north of Branson.

Hello, all!

Edited: Whoa! What was I looking at? LOL

 

[DEBUS CHICKS]

This is the first chicken we hatched from our eggs, I know exciting to us...maybe not to others. I think it is the 3rd step in chicken addiction, hatching eggs! Cackles is a mutt, we think she is unique, half Buff Orpington and half Jersey Giant - so if you ever wondered what that would look like