Cochin Thread!!!

[countrygirl74]

Hey all,

My week has been terrible. On Tuesday a got a call to say two of my 3 week old babies had fallen in my pool, and one little girl had drowned.
I took the second one, a little boy, to the vet who said that he had water in his lungs but should be fine. Yesterday i put him back with his mom for the night.

Last night we heard some squawking outside, we didn’t pay it too much attention as we have heard early morning squawking before, when I woke up I looked outside and saw feathers all over the garden. My little baby who fell in the pool two days ago had been killed, along with one of my black girls. The little babies mom has been attacked, probably trying to protect her baby and the injured mom had lost a lot of feathers, so it looks like she had a big fight trying to protect her baby.

I have no idea what could have done that, maybe a cat, there were no signs of any remains, just a lot of feathers spread across the lawn.The two that were taken were with their moms on the floor. I feel gutted twice over because I heard the noise at night, and also thought they were safe at the bottom of the coop so I didn’t seal it in.

I am devastated, and it feels so much worse knowing that I heard the struggle early in the morning. It really is gutting knowing I could have helped them.

Losing my first pets really stinks, even more so knowing that I could have prevented it with a bit of work.

So a cat, rat or owl are the only options where i live, i am leaning towards a cat as the culprit, but the fault is mine for not protecting the moms correctly, after a year of free ranging with no problems, losing 3 birds in two days in devastating, 2 three week old chicks, and the only pullet i was going to keep from my improving partridge project.

I hope at least someone learns from my story, protect them even if you think they are safe. I wish you all better luck then i have had.
Andy

So sorry!! Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we still lose some - don't take it too hard.

 

[joanie_maine]

When I first moved here, I lost lots of birds to minks, the neighbors dogs and hawks. It took me a long time to make secure pens and seal every hole that might give entry.

Now my birds go nowhere - they stay in pens or in cages.

I'd love to have them free range or wander, but I'd rather have peace of mind

 

[Aime137]

Hey all,

My week has been terrible. On Tuesday a got a call to say two of my 3 week old babies had fallen in my pool, and one little girl had drowned.
I took the second one, a little boy, to the vet who said that he had water in his lungs but should be fine. Yesterday i put him back with his mom for the night.

Last night we heard some squawking outside, we didn’t pay it too much attention as we have heard early morning squawking before, when I woke up I looked outside and saw feathers all over the garden. My little baby who fell in the pool two days ago had been killed, along with one of my black girls. The little babies mom has been attacked, probably trying to protect her baby and the injured mom had lost a lot of feathers, so it looks like she had a big fight trying to protect her baby.

I have no idea what could have done that, maybe a cat, there were no signs of any remains, just a lot of feathers spread across the lawn.The two that were taken were with their moms on the floor. I feel gutted twice over because I heard the noise at night, and also thought they were safe at the bottom of the coop so I didn’t seal it in.

I am devastated, and it feels so much worse knowing that I heard the struggle early in the morning. It really is gutting knowing I could have helped them.

Losing my first pets really stinks, even more so knowing that I could have prevented it with a bit of work.

So a cat, rat or owl are the only options where i live, i am leaning towards a cat as the culprit, but the fault is mine for not protecting the moms correctly, after a year of free ranging with no problems, losing 3 birds in two days in devastating, 2 three week old chicks, and the only pullet i was going to keep from my improving partridge project.

I hope at least someone learns from my story, protect them even if you think they are safe. I wish you all better luck then i have had.
Andy

I'm so sorry for your loss! It is devastating to loose your birds. I think most of us have a tendancy to beat ourselves up when something like this happens, but all we can do is learn from it and move on. Thank you for sharing your story so that others can learn also!

 

[AndyCap]

Thanks all, the creature that attacked ast night was probably a genet, its a wild cat like creature that lives around South Africa. I have sealed them all in tonight, and am going to get a humane trap tomorrow and try and catch it.

This is what the look like, courtesy of wikipedia.

 

[dak]

Thanks all, the creature that attacked ast night was probably a genet, its a wild cat like creature that lives around South Africa. I have sealed them all in tonight, and am going to get a humane trap tomorrow and try and catch it.

This is what the look like, courtesy of wikipedia.

Beautiful, though not in the cat family. Related to civets and mongoose.

 

[ChickensXOXO]

My baby Cochin's wings are doing a little weird.
They seem to want to go outward?

 

[countrygirl74]

My baby Cochin's wings are doing a little weird.
They seem to want to go outward?

My baby cochin's wings did that for a short time too... when I looked closer, I noticed she has split wing. As she grew, they started coming in closer to her body.

 

[davony's chicks]

Hey all,

My week has been terrible. On Tuesday a got a call to say two of my 3 week old babies had fallen in my pool, and one little girl had drowned.
I took the second one, a little boy, to the vet who said that he had water in his lungs but should be fine. Yesterday i put him back with his mom for the night.

Last night we heard some squawking outside, we didn’t pay it too much attention as we have heard early morning squawking before, when I woke up I looked outside and saw feathers all over the garden. My little baby who fell in the pool two days ago had been killed, along with one of my black girls. The little babies mom has been attacked, probably trying to protect her baby and the injured mom had lost a lot of feathers, so it looks like she had a big fight trying to protect her baby.

I have no idea what could have done that, maybe a cat, there were no signs of any remains, just a lot of feathers spread across the lawn.The two that were taken were with their moms on the floor. I feel gutted twice over because I heard the noise at night, and also thought they were safe at the bottom of the coop so I didn’t seal it in.

I am devastated, and it feels so much worse knowing that I heard the struggle early in the morning. It really is gutting knowing I could have helped them.

Losing my first pets really stinks, even more so knowing that I could have prevented it with a bit of work.

So a cat, rat or owl are the only options where i live, i am leaning towards a cat as the culprit, but the fault is mine for not protecting the moms correctly, after a year of free ranging with no problems, losing 3 birds in two days in devastating, 2 three week old chicks, and the only pullet i was going to keep from my improving partridge project.

I hope at least someone learns from my story, protect them even if you think they are safe. I wish you all better luck then i have had.
Andy

So sorry to hear of your loss! We have all been there and beaten ourselves up for the very same things. Don't be so hard on yourself. The only thing you can do is learn from this and move on. Thank you for sharing your story and hopefully it helps someone else.

 

[ducklingsweety]

Quote:
you should get golden-laced! i love mine so much my name on this website is hers!

 

[ki4got]

Thanks all, the creature that attacked ast night was probably a genet, its a wild cat like creature that lives around South Africa. I have sealed them all in tonight, and am going to get a humane trap tomorrow and try and catch it.

This is what the look like, courtesy of wikipedia.

sorry to hear about your losses Andy...

maybe we need to introduce this kitty to 'Junior' my hawk-eating rooster. 8)

lost part of his comb during the fight, and a few scratches on his head, but he's healing up just fine, if a bit messy.

here he is right after the fight and the next day linked out of respect for those with weak stomachs and small children.

he wouldn't let me clean it up at all... but you can see the rear blade of his comb is totally gone now. it slopes smoothly from his head to the bottom edge of the last point of his comb. he's healed up a lot in just a week, and his feathers are nearly white again. but he still won't let me touch his head, so we'll leave it be.

btw, junior is a silver grey dorking - the only other breed i've encountered with the cochin's personality.