Colorado

[21hens-incharge]

Hawks will usually eat the prey right at kill spot. There would be a pile of feathers and perhaps a few less than desirable body parts. I know the red tailed hawks by where I work will eat the prairie dogs right there and carry off about half of it. When they get a dove or pigeon there is usually only a pile of feathers and a foot. An American Kestrel which is not much different in size from a ring neck dove was bound and determined to get mine with me right there. They are brave little buggers. If you have a small chicken and there are hawks of any kind around you may want to consider a chicken tractor.

On a different note.....
It looks like I may have won the yellow jacket battle. I took a canister of sevin dust and near dark last night sprinkled about half of it in the crack of the concrete where they were entering the nest. Today only one additional live one in the trap. NO signs of activity from the nest and I was in the front yard most of the day.

.............for now.

I was putting in a decorative fence along the front of the property. I found one to many dog poops in my flower beds.
I got some second hand fencing off of Craigs list. (Hubby actually went to get it since Craigs freaks him out)

This is what is now around my front yard. I added some rebar that I painted to match to strengthen it. The way it is installed is with stakes that you pound in the ground and it slides down on. DH had to be gone most of the day and is still gone for another hour at least. I still have 19 pieces that I can use around my garden too.

 

[Travinara]

We had a gorgeous day and I needed to get some work done in my fenced bean bed, so I thought it might be nice to introduce the girls to dirt. They went running around like mad and seemed to really enjoy the outing. I know they're awfully young, but I figured in a natural setting they would be figuring out dirt shortly after hatching. We were out for about an hour, and it was more than enough to wear them out. After the photo, I rounded them all up and put them back in the brooder... but I had to share because it's just so darn cute!

 

[COChix]

We had a gorgeous day and I needed to get some work done in my fenced bean bed, so I thought it might be nice to introduce the girls to dirt. They went running around like mad and seemed to really enjoy the outing. I know they're awfully young, but I figured in a natural setting they would be figuring out dirt shortly after hatching. We were out for about an hour, and it was more than enough to wear them out. After the photo, I rounded them all up and put them back in the brooder... but I had to share because it's just so darn cute!

Cute and never too young to start them doing what they like to do naturally. After all if they were with a hen usually by day 3-4 she has them out and about exploring the world with her. Our last batch of chicks from our hatch, I was giving worms, plugs of grass and fermented feed starting on day 3. Helps build their natural immunities... So I am now ooking at replacing our BO roo with a Blue Egg laying gene breed and was soliciting opinions on the various breeds, I am torn between a BCM, Wellie or a Amercauana. If there is anyone out their with any of those breeds and needs to get rid of a roo or would like to swap for a BO please let me know. So all you chicken experts what are your experiences with the above wish list breed and their tempraments and what types if roo's they were, thanks.

 

[intangible04]

Hawks will usually eat the prey right at kill spot. There would be a pile of feathers and perhaps a few less than desirable body parts. I know the red tailed hawks by where I work will eat the prairie dogs right there and carry off about half of it. When they get a dove or pigeon there is usually only a pile of feathers and a foot. An American Kestrel which is not much different in size from a ring neck dove was bound and determined to get mine with me right there. They are brave little buggers. If you have a small chicken and there are hawks of any kind around you may want to consider a chicken tractor.

On a different note.....
It looks like I may have won the yellow jacket battle. I took a canister of sevin dust and near dark last night sprinkled about half of it in the crack of the concrete where they were entering the nest. Today only one additional live one in the trap. NO signs of activity from the nest and I was in the front yard most of the day.
.............for now.

I was putting in a decorative fence along the front of the property. I found one to many dog poops in my flower beds.
I got some second hand fencing off of Craigs list. (Hubby actually went to get it since Craigs freaks him out)

This is what is now around my front yard. I added some rebar that I painted to match to strengthen it. The way it is installed is with stakes that you pound in the ground and it slides down on. DH had to be gone most of the day and is still gone for another hour at least.  I still have 19 pieces that I can use around my garden too.

That's good to know. Thanks for the information. I don't believe it was a hawk that got the one about a month ago. Not sure what, if anything, got it.


Ended up asking my uncle and he was able to identify it! It's a Mississippi Kite. Their primary food sources are insects, rodents, and small birds. Thank goodness! Here are some bonus pictures I was able to get yesterday. I counted 8 that were flying around. Not sure if all 8 are from the nest that's in my neighbors tree or not or if it's even a nest since the 8 all appear to be adults.

 

[suncatcher]

Hawks will usually eat the prey right at kill spot. There would be a pile of feathers and perhaps a few less than desirable body parts. I know the red tailed hawks by where I work will eat the prairie dogs right there and carry off about half of it. When they get a dove or pigeon there is usually only a pile of feathers and a foot. An American Kestrel which is not much different in size from a ring neck dove was bound and determined to get mine with me right there. They are brave little buggers. If you have a small chicken and there are hawks of any kind around you may want to consider a chicken tractor.

On a different note.....
It looks like I may have won the yellow jacket battle. I took a canister of sevin dust and near dark last night sprinkled about half of it in the crack of the concrete where they were entering the nest. Today only one additional live one in the trap. NO signs of activity from the nest and I was in the front yard most of the day.

.............for now.

I was putting in a decorative fence along the front of the property. I found one to many dog poops in my flower beds.
I got some second hand fencing off of Craigs list. (Hubby actually went to get it since Craigs freaks him out)

This is what is now around my front yard. I added some rebar that I painted to match to strengthen it. The way it is installed is with stakes that you pound in the ground and it slides down on. DH had to be gone most of the day and is still gone for another hour at least. I still have 19 pieces that I can use around my garden too.

Nice!! Great idea on using the rebar with it! Congrats on your Yellow Jacket win!

We had a gorgeous day and I needed to get some work done in my fenced bean bed, so I thought it might be nice to introduce the girls to dirt. They went running around like mad and seemed to really enjoy the outing. I know they're awfully young, but I figured in a natural setting they would be figuring out dirt shortly after hatching. We were out for about an hour, and it was more than enough to wear them out. After the photo, I rounded them all up and put them back in the brooder... but I had to share because it's just so darn cute!

Oh, they love the dirt, even at that age..... so cute!

Quote: Do any of your hens lay blue eggs? The only blue egg genes I know of are the Cream Legbar and some Am's. Crossing blue and brown or tan egg layers will give you offspring that lay olive colored eggs, crossing this rooster to a white egg layer will give you light blue eggs. I think that is right.....

Quote: Lovely pictures!!!! Should leave your grown chickens alone, and help with any insects in your yard!

 

[21hens-incharge]

What a spectacular shot of the head on this bird. BEAUTIFUL creature there. I am glad you were able to id it. I had thought it was a darker bird. I would never have guessed a Mississippi Kite. The range map shows them not living here. Odd what birds will do.

Sunchatcher,
The fence is actually about 42 inches tall. It looks cheesy in the photo lol. They do make some super cheesy garden border fences lol. This actually looks ok. It is not what I wanted but was faster to get installed. I wanted a 3 foot picket fence. We are supposed to only do a 3 foot maximum at the front of the properties here. I think I can get away with it since it is so see through. The height restriction is so kids on bikes on the sidewalk don't get mushed by people backing out of the driveway.

Still no new yellow jacket activity out front. I am not fond of pesticides but sometimes drastic measures have to be taken.

 

[intangible04]

Nice!! Great idea on using the rebar with it! Congrats on your Yellow Jacket win! Oh, they love the dirt, even at that age..... so cute! Do any of your hens lay blue eggs? The only blue egg genes I know of are the Cream Legbar and some Am's. Crossing blue and brown or tan egg layers will give you offspring that lay olive colored eggs, crossing this rooster to a white egg layer will give you light blue eggs. I think that is right..... Lovely pictures!!!! Should leave your grown chickens alone, and help with any insects in your yard!

Thanks! I'll have to make sure the little ones are secure once I put them outside but it's nice to know the bigger ones should be okay. I'm hoping they take care of the dang flies! The chickens have fun chasing the grasshoppers lol.

What a spectacular shot of the head on this bird. BEAUTIFUL creature there. I am glad you were able to id it. I had thought it was a darker bird. I would never have guessed a Mississippi Kite. The range map shows them not living here. Odd what birds will do.

I'm glad I figured out my camera lol! I finally found the quick focus setting. I absolutely love falcons and hawks and seeing these guys around and so close is pretty awesome. I'm really surprised at how close they were, we're talking 40-50ft. On the map, it shows them on there but it was a teeny tiny spot. There was also an interactive map where people can report them and there have been one or two spotted in the area.

 

[COChix]

Do any of your hens lay blue eggs?  The only blue egg genes I know of are the Cream Legbar and some Am's.  Crossing blue and brown or tan egg layers will give you offspring that lay olive colored eggs, crossing this rooster to a white egg layer will give you light blue eggs.  I think that is right.....

Ok well I am not sure I stated my desires for the blu egg laying gene rooster, so we can make EE and Olive Eggers! Oh and looks like PC has an Araucana (blu) roo that need to be re homed so we will probably help her out . So then our mixes would be the following...now keep in mind I am no breeding expert. Just what I have read or told.

Araucana roo x Welsumer = Oilve Egger
Araucana roo x EE - More intense green/egg colors, not sure all our hens have muffs but the roo do not so my guess is we would get a mix of clean faced EE or muffed EE.
Araucana roo x all our other breeds (Dark Cornish, BR, Delaware) = Easter Eggers, my understanding is the offspring would have a 50/50 chance of having tails and the others not, my guess would be they would be cleaned faced EE.

Does that sound correct?

We no longer have to leave, so we are going to do a change of roosters as our BO is 15 months now. If anyone is interested in him for your flock, he is a great roo. If there are no takers then we we will process him and his 7 young male offspring. Then we can have a quarantine area for the new roo.

 

[alebuela]

@COChix

So glad you can stay!! I had this funny feeling that someone in the owner's circle would talk some sense into him/her. You don't just get rid of good tenants, especially for something as "specialized" as your property is.

@intangible04

Your photo of the Mississippi Kite is stunning! It is a beautiful bird. Thank you for sharing.

@21hens-incharge

I am coveting that nice fencing! I don't think it looks cheap. I've been looking for something similar for the front parking area of my property, because people are walking their dogs here all day long. The dogs leave their doings and - although there's a law here that owners have to pick up their dogs' poo - a lot of owners just ignore it. That fence will surely keep the dogs out!

 

[suncatcher]

Quote: Sounds about right! There is tons of info on the OE thread here on BYC too.