Coffee's ready...

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

 

[Gargoyle]

There are 3 type of yote:
Coydog - Just what it sounds like - they are unpredictable. Some are skittish, bold, aggressive, non aggressive.... just never can predict them.
Eastern Coyote - Full blooded coyote. No fear of man, usually cautious and non aggressive. Lighter animal.
Western Coyote - A mix of wolf and coyote. No fear of man and aggressive. Heavier animal.

This is the one that came through our property 3 or 4 years ago. Which type is it?
It was headed north, so maybe it came from your farm.

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Looks to me like a coyote with a mangy tail. I'm no expert in identifying them. I photographed them and had the forest preserve expert identify them. We actually had a pair of true wolves come through 2 years ago. Killed a deer and fed on it for a few days. I photographed them as they were very wary - unlike the yotes I had been watching. They ran off the yotes - also unusual. They were bigger than I had ever seen in these parts. No other animal would come near the kill so I was suspicious. the expert confirmed and came out to inspect the tracks, take clay molds of the tracks and generally just poke around at what was left.
The Eastern yotes I've seen are more varied in their colorings than Western coyotes. You can actually tell them apart from a distance. Marks and shadings on legs, backs and faces. Is that a shadow on it's hind end? It's got markings that stand out unless they are shadows and wet patches. It's head and face look to be slight and more like a non-hybrid.

 

[Gargoyle]

That was a shadow on the rear leg.

 

[oesdog]

That was a shadow on the rear leg.

Wow - beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lovely pic indeed. I so wish I was there to see them! Wolves too how cool is that!!!!!!!!!! I would be up hunting with the camera for sure though I think I would deffinately make sure the chicken cage was well secured. Beautiful majestic animals how wonderful. I would deffinately get the paints and easel out !!!!!!!! Nothing like the little old foxes we get here you are so lucky to have them. - Ok so you want to poke my eye out for that but I see wonder in them too.

Oesdog - owwww so cool !!!!!!!!!! Better looking for sure than that old poor dead thing. Happy OES !!!!!!!!

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

We had the most beautiful red foxes around here. They were everywhere. Suburbs and farms. That was about 15 or 20 years ago and before the over population of coyotes happened. Love the look of foxes. I heard that in Russia they have bred a line of fox pets. Selecting the most gentle and breeding them for certain qualities, they make great pets if the special I saw was to be belived. They are like a cross between a dog and a cat in personality.

 

[Gargoyle]

We have foxes here, but they are very discreet. There is enough open land that I never see them. I think the raccoons, coyotes, and automobiles have taught them to stay hidden.
_______________________

Chicken problems. We have four, three hens and a rooster. One of the hens has developed a real taste for feathers, she picks on all the others. A month ago I treated the wounds with Blu-Kote, and that slowed her down for a while, but after a week or two she started back; I treated them again and ordered a bottle of Rooster Booster pick-no-more. That is strong stuff. They freaked out when I put it on them, for the first half hour they were frantically trying to pick it off themselves, then they settled down and the picking seemed to subside; but after a week I could see fresh wounds, Donna was back picking the other three. Mossy's neck and chest are almost bare, with spots on he back, and Goldie and Brooster have big bare spots in their necks, crop, and ruffled feathers. I treated teh damaged spots with Blu Kote last night.

This morning I started to reapply the Rooster Booster. I did Brooster first, he didn't like it, wrestled with me a bit but then he settled down and let me rub it in. I then set him down, picked up Mossy and started on her, suddenly there was a big commotion- I looked up and Brooster was half flying through the air, tumbling and he flopped down on his back- laid there with his feet up, head turned to the side, eyes glazed. YIKES. I gently picked him up, he felt dead, no response at all to being touched. I tried to stand him up and his legs collapsed, he lay on his stomach with his head on the ground limp.

I quick took him in the house, into the shower, set him down and he lay there on his stomach with his head flat down again; I got some water with ACV, and it took five minutes to find the eyedropper, by then he was standing but very weak. He took some water, then I got him some yogurt and put it on his beak, he licked it a bit. After a while he was back standing ok, but very still and quiet. I let him rest a while, then I gave him a good bath, washed off all the Rooster Booster and yesterdays Blue-kote came off too. I then gave him a long blow dry with a hair dryer, he seemed to really like that, and started cackling gently.

It could have been one of two things- he got a solid mouthful of the Rooster Booster and it knocked him out, or he was twisting trying to get it off and somehow knocked his head or fell on his head and knocked himself out. He really seemed dead or almost dead for a couple minutes there.

I also gave Mossy a good bath and blow dry. Donna is now in jail- a large dog cage inside the house, with food, water, and a nesting basket. She doesn't like it, but she's staying inside for a week, and then if the others are healing up well and their feathers growing back we'll very carefully reintroduce her to her family.

 

[oesdog]

We had the most beautiful red foxes around here. They were everywhere. Suburbs and farms. That was about 15 or 20 years ago and before the over population of coyotes happened. Love the look of foxes. I heard that in Russia they have bred a line of fox pets. Selecting the most gentle and breeding them for certain qualities, they make great pets if the special I saw was to be belived. They are like a cross between a dog and a cat in personality.

I am not into that kind of thing. I like foxes most in the wild. But at the sametime if I ever got to rescue a blind or damaged one that couldn't be in the wild that would be different for sure. I saw a wildlife programme once where the place had a white fox - not an arctic or albino this was a genetic fault but they couldn;t let it back to the wild because of its colour as other foxes/critters would kill it. They were talking of putting it to sleep and I thought what a darn wast. It may not have been able to live like a fox in the wild but it could have had a full and benificial life somewhere. So I guess that made me think if I ever found a cub that had been hit by a car and lost a leg or was blind I wouldn't mind giving it some kind of life. Sadly the only ones I ever got that close to were road kill.
I really believe the best place for these animals is the wild and the exceptions being rare breed work and animals that couldn;t survive without help like those that are blinded or otherwise injured. Animals that could be in a breeding programme? My Dh got a wonderful folcon once and it had been hit with a crossbow bolt through both eyes. It was never going to be able to survive in the wild and the RSPB here told him and the Vet that treated the bird to get it put down. It was such a wonderful creature DH couldn't bring himself to do that so he found it a home in a breeding programme instead where it had a good productive happy life. Best place for these critters is the wild though and last resort I think keeping them. I am not convinced about Fox pets???? Sounds a bit not right moraly to me - fad pets?

Oesdog

 

[oesdog]

We have foxes here, but they are very discreet. There is enough open land that I never see them. I think the raccoons, coyotes, and automobiles have taught them to stay hidden.
_______________________

Chicken problems. We have four, three hens and a rooster. One of the hens has developed a real taste for feathers, she picks on all the others. A month ago I treated the wounds with Blu-Kote, and that slowed her down for a while, but after a week or two she started back; I treated them again and ordered a bottle of Rooster Booster pick-no-more. That is strong stuff. They freaked out when I put it on them, for the first half hour they were frantically trying to pick it off themselves, then they settled down and the picking seemed to subside; but after a week I could see fresh wounds, Donna was back picking the other three. Mossy's neck and chest are almost bare, with spots on he back, and Goldie and Brooster have big bare spots in their necks, crop, and ruffled feathers. I treated teh damaged spots with Blu Kote last night.

This morning I started to reapply the Rooster Booster. I did Brooster first, he didn't like it, wrestled with me a bit but then he settled down and let me rub it in. I then set him down, picked up Mossy and started on her, suddenly there was a big commotion- I looked up and Brooster was half flying through the air, tumbling and he flopped down on his back- laid there with his feet up, head turned to the side, eyes glazed. YIKES. I gently picked him up, he felt dead, no response at all to being touched. I tried to stand him up and his legs collapsed, he lay on his stomach with his head on the ground limp.

I quick took him in the house, into the shower, set him down and he lay there on his stomach with his head flat down again; I got some water with ACV, and it took five minutes to find the eyedropper, by then he was standing but very weak. He took some water, then I got him some yogurt and put it on his beak, he licked it a bit. After a while he was back standing ok, but very still and quiet. I let him rest a while, then I gave him a good bath, washed off all the Rooster Booster and yesterdays Blue-kote came off too. I then gave him a long blow dry with a hair dryer, he seemed to really like that, and started cackling gently.

It could have been one of two things- he got a solid mouthful of the Rooster Booster and it knocked him out, or he was twisting trying to get it off and somehow knocked his head or fell on his head and knocked himself out. He really seemed dead or almost dead for a couple minutes there.

I also gave Mossy a good bath and blow dry. Donna is now in jail- a large dog cage inside the house, with food, water, and a nesting basket. She doesn't like it, but she's staying inside for a week, and then if the others are healing up well and their feathers growing back we'll very carefully reintroduce her to her family.

BAD DONNA - hope all gets better in your coop. Sounds a really bad time there. Poor Roo boy. That must have been a real shock. Did he have an alergic reaction????? I wouldn;t put that stuff on him again. Your girl is such a wee pest. I am not sure how you can change her behaviour. I am trying to think what is not very nice tasting you can put on the feathers that is more natural based that wont kill them. I know some folk put mustard in mash potato inside eggs to stop egg eating???? Mustard feathers????? Just a thought???????

Hope someone comes up with a better solution???????

Oesdog

 

[Gargoyle]

I wouldn;t put that stuff on him again.

No, we won't use that again. All it contains is Aloe Vera Gel, Calendula (Marigold), Cresylic Acid (a coal tar byproduct), Coal Tar Distillate, and Tea Tree Oil; natural ingredients, but it's really strong, for three days after applying it I couldn't hold them, because it burned my nose and throat.

If isolation doesn't cure her, about the only thing left are the blinders (pinless peepers) but I'm reluctant to use those- it'd think it would interfere with eating, jumping up to the nest box or the roost, and so on. It's really frustrating.