Colorado

[COChix]

There's a member on here that has a quieted salmon favorelle/wellsummer with the quieting surgery we're getting, but I wanted to try the velcro band similar to the no crow collar to begin getting frizzles & sizzles since my polish seems to becoming the one to get her top hat issues with jealous big sized chickens, but she is by far my best forager.

And my bf being a good chicken daddy... he loves my chickens as much as I do!!

And this schweet coop he built me that's enclosed. I added more chairs etc and stumps tho...

Hey Double where are you located? Also every time I see pictures of the Polish birds they always make me smile, what characters.

 

[yawningreyhound]

COLORADO PEEPS.....Check out what happened last night to my neighbor's coop. There were actually some 8 survivors of the 15 birds she had left, how we cannot tell. The old girl of the coop, "Broken Toe", made it. She's 8 years old. Some others must've woken up enough to run outside the coop. The coop floor was ankle deep in feathers. There were piles of feathers outside. It was a rout.

He broke all the roosts

He ripped the inside door apart, that's 1/4" steel mesh...but it was only attached with staples, not poultry/fence staples. It was meant to just separate the birds from their supplies storage, never thinking he would get in through the tuff shed door.

He dismantled the outside door, we can't even TELL how he turned the lever to open the door he ripped 1x3's off of..we can't believe he intended to turn the handle but that must've been what happened.And look at the SIZE of him.

This bear has broken into her coop 3 times int he past 3 weeks. She's down from 25 birds to 8, and we had to take one to the local DVM for dispatch this morning as she had a sucking chest wound (a lung sac was showing), we think her leg was broken, and she was dragging a wing. We gave her a big dose of Metacam, and drove her over to the DVM who promptly dispatched her with some neck move I could never in a million years pull off.
And that door is wedged in the opening, neither of us can dislodge it. He apparently couldn't get in there (there were no chickens in the outside run anyway) so moved on to the tuff (well not so tuff today) shed to the right, where the chickens ARE. He'd already ripped the far side of this fencing July 5 and ate all the birds who were outside-in-the-run roosters. Didn't leave a feather either.

We;re thinking it's time to report him. I've built "Bear Mats" that I saw on Buying Alaska on HGTV and put them around my coop, plus I've added a big wide truck strap that I wrap around the whole coop after we replaced the one latch he broke 3 weeks ago and put up angle aluminum on the opening to which we attached big hefty double jointed around-the-corner hasps; he'll have to dismantle the door to get in IF he can get past the 2-inch tight truck strap (while STANDING on very pokey screws). But it's apparent he CAN dismantle a door. Plus I mounted a big double halogen light motion detector setup we found at Costco so that when he approaches the coop, he gets blinded by the light. We think that's why he stopped at one latch when he attacked my coop July 7. Now he's getting a painful place to stand if he approaches my coop again.

Gosh this is upsetting. I took care of this neighbor's birds during the flood and was quite fond of them.

Marcia in Pinewood Springs

 

[trsturself]

COLORADO PEEPS.....Check out what happened last night to my neighbor's coop. There were actually some 8 survivors of the 15 birds she had left, how we cannot tell. The old girl of the coop, "Broken Toe", made it. She's 8 years old. Some others must've woken up enough to run outside the coop. The coop floor was ankle deep in feathers. There were piles of feathers outside. It was a rout. He broke all the roosts He ripped the inside door apart, that's 1/4" steel mesh...but it was only attached with staples, not poultry/fence staples. It was meant to just separate the birds from their supplies storage, never thinking he would get in through the tuff shed door. He dismantled the outside door, we can't even TELL how he turned the lever to open the door he ripped 1x3's off of..we can't believe he intended to turn the handle but that must've been what happened. And look at the SIZE of him. This bear has broken into her coop 3 times int he past 3 weeks. She's down from 25 birds to 8, and we had to take one to the local DVM for dispatch this morning as she had a sucking chest wound (a lung sac was showing), we think her leg was broken, and she was dragging a wing. We gave her a big dose of Metacam, and drove her over to the DVM who promptly dispatched her with some neck move I could never in a million years pull off. And that door is wedged in the opening, neither of us can dislodge it. He apparently couldn't get in there (there were no chickens in the outside run anyway) so moved on to the tuff (well not so tuff today) shed to the right, where the chickens ARE. He'd already ripped the far side of this fencing July 5 and ate all the birds who were outside-in-the-run roosters. Didn't leave a feather either. We;re thinking it's time to report him. I've built "Bear Mats" that I saw on Buying Alaska on HGTV and put them around my coop, plus I've added a big wide truck strap that I wrap around the whole coop after we replaced the one latch he broke 3 weeks ago and put up angle aluminum on the opening to which we attached big hefty double jointed around-the-corner hasps; he'll have to dismantle the door to get in IF he can get past the 2-inch tight truck strap (while STANDING on very pokey screws). But it's apparent he CAN dismantle a door. Plus I mounted a big double halogen light motion detector setup we found at Costco so that when he approaches the coop, he gets blinded by the light. We think that's why he stopped at one latch when he attacked my coop July 7. Now he's getting a painful place to stand if he approaches my coop again. Gosh this is upsetting. I took care of this neighbor's birds during the flood and was quite fond of them. Marcia in Pinewood Springs

Wow! Not surprising that he keeps returning. Those chicken dinners are worth a little trouble for. I still marvel at their strength and intelligence though. Hopefully he didn't notice the handle turning made the door open. That would make him especially dangerous. Definitely need to report him. He won't be going away on his own and only destructive things can happen with him there. Amazing there were any survivors.

 

[wsmith]

Wow!

 

[samsr]

2nd Wow
I havent had anything like that happen yet and hate to hear others hoing through that. I had a hen get hit bu a car on monday evening. The person didnt even stop. She looked pretty bad at that point, but still alive. It looked like she got hit on her right side and head. The right side of her head was swoolen and bleeding a bit. She was extremely drousy and just wanted to sleep. I had placed her in one of the extra nesting boxes and checked on her every 1/2 hour. She looked very bad at the time. At one point she had her head hanging outside the nesting box with fluid coming from her beak. I thought she was a gonner. We mover her into the house for the evening and put her in a tub with food and water. She is now up and running around with the other chickens. All be it a little slower. Its amazing how resielient they actually are.
The fence next to the road will be going up this weekend.

 

[Pozees]

Wow #4 here, Marcia, how sad for you and your neighbor. I have never dealt with a bear attack, although neighbors not so very far away have.

 

[yawningreyhound]

Seriously? That's very sad, I'm sorry. But I'm glad she survived. Must've just been a bump with no lasting injuries thank goodness.

I came across a dead white duck next to a lodge up Hwy 36 here a few weeks ago. Someone had hit the duck so hard it was eviscerated. I stopped and picked him up and put him on the side of the driveway where they all live. The other ducks came quacking up to him and surrounded him and inspected him. I called the lodge when I got home to tell them. Every time I drove by there for days the ducks were all huddled on or around the rock where I laid the dead body (which the Lodge had removed).

Where I got my Airedale puppy had a story about their male. He was sitting inside the pullout to their farm by the big overhead fence/gate thing and someone swerved into the pullout and nailed him. On a country road east of Longmont.

People can just be the worst!

Bears, too.

 

[suncatcher]

X3 WOW! Yes, report him, after so many complaints they will tag him, and move him, not sure how many it takes, but you need to let the Div of Wildlife know he is a menace. So sad, and sorry for their loss!

 

[Double Kindness]

Omg that scares me!!

 

[Mtn Margie]

Looks like our Big Daddy that was cruising the hood. Maybe he went North for the Summer! Yes, call DOW and you have the pics to prove it. He will not get a second chance but it looks like he has lived a good life. " Higher Life" and all that.... We have called on the bear break-ins around here but they have done nothing, but no chickens have been eaten since early Spring either. The bear population is definitely growing and they are not keeping to the natural foods, even in good years. Never store feed in your coop in bear country, period.