Consolidated Kansas

[pikeman94]

You should be very careful. All hawks and owls are federally protected with stiff penalties if you are caught.

http://icwdm.org/handbook/birds/HawksOwls.asp

Normally, that is true unless they are attacking and you have exhausted non-lethal means to drive the predator away. This hawk wouldn't stop even then I was standing over him. Like Danz said a hawk will usually fly away and watch from afar. I could even get my girls back in their coop without this little devil attacking them. It was crazy!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

This evening provided some excitement. We were leaving to take DS in for a haircut when I heard an odd sqwak from one of the girls outside. It was the same sqwak I would hear if the girls were getting testy with one and other. I normally wouldn't go out, but something in the back of my head said I probably should. I open the back door to find feathers SSX feathers EVERYWHERE! I am in socks and the first thought I had was OWL! GRrrrrrr.... So, I scan the yard and nothing. I am looking all over because I know something is up. I check behind the coop and find a Coopers hawk with Ginger (RI) on her back with Ginger gasping for air! I start yelling at it -- nothing. So I grab the dogs pooper scooper that happened to be nearby and smack it with the scooper. I busted the end of the scooper off and the hawk still wouldn't let go. So I smacked it about 4 more times and he finally back up, but not before charging me. He got another smack for that. Then he flies up on the coop and won't leave! I swing at the hawk and he flies into the pasture next to my house. I run inside get my shoes on and tell the clan we have a hawk attack in progress and I need help getting the girls in the coop. DS and DD to the rescue! I get the wounded bird - Ginger back in the coop - she had blood coming out of her mouth - eek! DS runs to the other side of the yard to scoop up a hen and DD and I are shooing the others that don't like to be picked up back to the coop. The **** hawk was back hiding under a wheel barrow!!!!! It flew between DD and myself to start attacking another hen! DD is now in a panic because the hawk won't let go of the new hen. So I smack the hawk again and it flies back over the fence to the pasture. DD and DS stand on some pallets and keep an eye on the attacker. In the meantime DW has grabbed her .22 and is about to go all mamma bear on the attacker! WE managed to chase the hawk off and thought it was gone. So we are scooping up more hens and taking them back to the coop when DS says, "Daddy there is a dead chicken!!!!" I run up and the **** hawk is back trying to kill another of my birds! The hawk managed to wedged this hen between the coop and ground so that the hen was stuck, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying to take her. DW aka Mamma Bear shows up and tells the kids to get back. Needless to say the score is now Mamma Bear 1 - Hawk 0. I think the lesson here is, don't mess with Mamma Bear especially a Mamma Bear that is the daughter of a police officer.

So far, the SSX (Saffron) appears to be completely fine, she got away, but not before shedding a ton of feathers. The RI (Ginger) is being watched as I am really worried about her. The Wyandott (Salt) is being watched too as she was the one that was getting pulled by her head from under the coop. I will check on them again in the am to see how they are doing.

DW and I have never seen a hawk that ****** determined to go after a hen. Most hawks I chase off and they don't come back. This hawk wasn't going to leave until it had a hen or two!

DS said he and DD were heroes for saving the chickens. I chuckled and said that they both were.

Ok, now time for a stiff drink to calm my **** nerves.

Oh, DD got his haricut. He wanted a mohawk after all the action and DW was more than happy to oblige.

WoW!!!!! Nice job and I love your son! He's right, you were all heroes! Way to go Mamma Bear -- she's awesome! I can't imagine. It's enough to make me put my birds in when I go. Those hawks are usually much more cagey -- that was a full on assault I wouldn't ever see coming. Hope all your girls recover in body and spirit.

Here are my new toys from the Auction
They are Cackler geese. These are male female year old birds . My domestic ducks are bigger then they are.

Those are so cute and I love the one with its mouth wide open -- living up to its name!

Normally, that is true unless they are attacking and you have exhausted non-lethal means to drive the predator away. This hawk wouldn't stop even then I was standing over him. Like Danz said a hawk will usually fly away and watch from afar. I could even get my girls back in their coop without this little devil attacking them. It was crazy!

It was truly insanity!

 

[Hawkeye95]

The yarn eating hen update - she if doing just fine. She doesn't act like anything ever happened. And, for what it is worth, the colored wax smear is still on her tail, so that makes a good way to mark a bird if you need to know at a glance which is the bird you are tracking. A slightly warmed crayon should do the same thing. Just warm enough to make it soft and easier to work with, not melted.

So glad she is okay! I'll keep the marker in mind!

Thanks Chickies. I actually don't know what to think. At 5:30 this morning they both seemed completely broody, allowing me to pick them up off their nests, when they wouldn't normally tolerate being handled at all. The "first" broody had feathers plucked to make a lovely cozy nest and was in every way acting totally broody. Yet when I went down to see them again just now, neither was on the nest nor acting broody at all. I'm actually quite happy for them not to be broody yet but its weird they were acting so much that way just a few hours ago.
I'm glad the hen is doing fine now and thanks for the tip on the crayon!

Trish, guess what? I got my first turkey egg today!!! Since Madge is from the same hatch as your hens, I'm guessing eggs won't be far away for you either. I decided to let the turkeys out of the hoop coop for awhile but after she was out, I found the egg at the back of the doghouse that is in there, so now I'm wondering if I made a mistake letting her out. Oh well - I can always put her back in.

Yay for the turkey egg! She will probably lay for a while and then go broody. But she might start to hunt around for a good spot to lay out in the trees. That's when you'll need to lock her up. I had no idea what was going on with Seymore! So lesson learned! Don't let them stray to lay.

Finally getting to sit down after a full day. I sold the rest of the pups today! Woot! I just have the one little girl I am keeping until the end of the month to take care of. I might be able to let her out to play some when I am here.
I had to take a load of eggs to town and went to see my Dad. It is so weird trying to communicate writing on a white board instead of being able to talk.

So glad you got the pups sold! One less thing to worry about, which is nice. I'm so sorry your dad is not hearing now! I can't imagine how really frustrating that is making him! Listening to the radio, the news, or the tv-- I can't even imagine how angry I would be.

The goats are doing very well. I'm working with the older one on trying to get her used to me, she is very skittish, she has not been handled much at all. I got halters for them to try to teach them to lead, but they're still too small for them to fit, even the smallest size. I will have to get a smaller dog collar for her, the ones I have are even too big for her, but I did put it on just to get her used to something around her neck. I have one for the smaller baby & she leads on a leash fine, she is very tame though from being bottle fed. Well it's not really like feeding a human baby when the baby has hooves & she tries to jump in your lap, lol! She sucks down those bottles pretty fast these days too. I took her out in the field this afternoon on the leash & just let her browse a little & when we left the older one yelled her head off the whole time we were gone. I was surprised that she didn't like being left alone, I think she is becoming friends with the younger one now, that's what I was hoping would happen. That little one is just the sweetest thing, she follows me around like a dog.

Well I just thought I had dodged the bullet on the respiratory stuff. Now there are about two hens & a rooster that are sneezing & have runny eyes. I couldn't remember if it was the Denagard or the Tylan that were better for respiratory stuff. I put some Denagard in the water today. I have those two & I have Sulmet. Josie if you're on here & read this, which one is best for those symptoms?

Your goats sound adorable-- especially the little one. Maybe you can give the bigger one treats? Does she like anything in particular-- like carrots or something? Then she'll come up for treats and you can pet her. She definitely needs to be tamed if you're going to have a good experience with her. Sorry about the sickness. I still have my silkie on Denagard. I had her on it for a week and stopped and put her back out with the others. She was acting fine-- but two days later, runny nose!!! So I brought her back in and she's back on antibiotics. UGH! I'm pretty sure it's all this messed up weather, I am so OVER it.

This evening provided some excitement. We were leaving to take DS in for a haircut when I heard an odd sqwak from one of the girls outside. It was the same sqwak I would hear if the girls were getting testy with one and other. I normally wouldn't go out, but something in the back of my head said I probably should. I open the back door to find feathers SSX feathers EVERYWHERE! I am in socks and the first thought I had was OWL! GRrrrrrr.... So, I scan the yard and nothing. I am looking all over because I know something is up. I check behind the coop and find a Coopers hawk with Ginger (RI) on her back with Ginger gasping for air! I start yelling at it -- nothing. So I grab the dogs pooper scooper that happened to be nearby and smack it with the scooper. I busted the end of the scooper off and the hawk still wouldn't let go. So I smacked it about 4 more times and he finally back up, but not before charging me. He got another smack for that. Then he flies up on the coop and won't leave! I swing at the hawk and he flies into the pasture next to my house. I run inside get my shoes on and tell the clan we have a hawk attack in progress and I need help getting the girls in the coop. DS and DD to the rescue! I get the wounded bird - Ginger back in the coop - she had blood coming out of her mouth - eek! DS runs to the other side of the yard to scoop up a hen and DD and I are shooing the others that don't like to be picked up back to the coop. The **** hawk was back hiding under a wheel barrow!!!!! It flew between DD and myself to start attacking another hen! DD is now in a panic because the hawk won't let go of the new hen. So I smack the hawk again and it flies back over the fence to the pasture. DD and DS stand on some pallets and keep an eye on the attacker. In the meantime DW has grabbed her .22 and is about to go all mamma bear on the attacker! WE managed to chase the hawk off and thought it was gone. So we are scooping up more hens and taking them back to the coop when DS says, "Daddy there is a dead chicken!!!!" I run up and the **** hawk is back trying to kill another of my birds! The hawk managed to wedged this hen between the coop and ground so that the hen was stuck, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying to take her. DW aka Mamma Bear shows up and tells the kids to get back. Needless to say the score is now Mamma Bear 1 - Hawk 0. I think the lesson here is, don't mess with Mamma Bear especially a Mamma Bear that is the daughter of a police officer.

So far, the SSX (Saffron) appears to be completely fine, she got away, but not before shedding a ton of feathers. The RI (Ginger) is being watched as I am really worried about her. The Wyandott (Salt) is being watched too as she was the one that was getting pulled by her head from under the coop. I will check on them again in the am to see how they are doing.

DW and I have never seen a hawk that ****** determined to go after a hen. Most hawks I chase off and they don't come back. This hawk wasn't going to leave until it had a hen or two!

DS said he and DD were heroes for saving the chickens. I chuckled and said that they both were.

Ok, now time for a stiff drink to calm my **** nerves.

Oh, DD got his haricut. He wanted a mohawk after all the action and DW was more than happy to oblige.

This is just INSANE!!!!! I would have done the same thing! I can't believe the nerve of that hawk. I wonder if it was sick? I have a hawk here that flies around and checks out my birds, but when i go out there, it takes off. I'm just shaking my head-- I can't believe how nuts that was!

Here are my new toys from the Auction
They are Cackler geese. These are male female year old birds . My domestic ducks are bigger then they are.

These look like candadian geese! But they are really small, hu? That is neat! They look really cute-- their heads look like ducks.

I shot 17 fox and 9 raccoons last year not to mention countless feral cats. All costing me money from eating my birds. Anyhow I noticed the other night coming home from the auction in my yard was about fifteen rabbits. Now I have lived here for almost five years and never seen one rabbit. I have done a great job taking out any predator by land or air! Now I have a GP and she does a great job of saying "hey dad there's a evil out here bring your rifle!" And I do and I rid the problem. Right now I have one smart dam raccoon, but he shouldnt last much longer ;-)

Daren

ha! That's funny! All the bunnies know where it's safe! I love rabbits!

I had the weirdest thing happen. I had a baby hatched a couple days ago. I noticed it was starting to fail. It was eating and drinking but not doing well. Well I checked it out. It's vent is closed except for like a pinhole size. It can't poop. Even pressing on it like you would to extract poop you can only get a tiny pinsize drop of liquid out. There just isn't a place for it to go. I don't think I have ever heard of that happening before. I am sure it will pass fairly soon. There is just nothing I can do for it. I can't help but wonder what on earth caused that problem. Other chicks from that group are doing great. I am sure it will die from it's own toxins. Poor thing!

Oh wow, I'm so sorry about that chick, I've never heard of that. I guess with as many as you hatch, you're bound to see it all! You should take a picture. You could give a talk on everything you've experienced!


So I woke up sick. Bleah. I think I have a sinus infection, but it's kicking my butt. I took some non-drowsy decongestant, but I think it's still going to put me to sleep here in a bit. Took some asprin because my neck and body aches a bit. I could scream I am so freakin' sick of winter.

I keep hoping my silkies are going to lay any day now-- they are driving me NUTS! LAY darn you all!!! hahahhaa! Okay, I need to go rest.

 

[Trish44]

Wow Pikeman! I've never even considered a hawk being that crazy. That is unreal. You should buy your wife a nice dinner out on the town for her efforts. I hope your hen survives. Most hawks at least fly away and watch from a distance. I wonder if it was really that starved?
Well the thing with my Dad is about two weeks ago, he woke up and couldn't hear and it has gotten worse. He has been to the doctor and his ears are clean and his blood count is normal. No sickness or infection. They even tried antibiotics but it continued to get worse. He is now deaf as a post. It took a while to get into a specialist. That is where they are taking him Friday.
I fear he has had another stroke. He lost his hearing in one ear years ago due to a stroke and it never returned. Now this is the other ear. I keep thinking they could have done some scans or something to determine that, but I guess the doctor decided to send him to the auditory specialist doctor... whatever they are called. At first he could hear some sound but had trouble understanding it. Now there is nothing.
I was born with a hearing loss in my right ear. I can't hear out of it if someone is on that side unless I read lips. It actually makes me feel angry when I can't hear. I noticed over the years I talk very loud now and don't mean to. It just happens I guess to make up for the lack of hearing. I can't imagine how frustrating it can be not to be able to hear at all....especially if you have been able to hear your whole life.
Trish if that one goat follows you the other one will come along with it. They are just that way. I had one that was a big baby and the others although wild and crazy would just come along. I could tie up the one and the others would hang around it. You can still get the older goat tamed but expect some resistance. They will tangle themselves in a rope or leash until they can't walk but will eventually get the hang of it.
Speaking of goats where has Checoukan been lately?
I had the weirdest thing happen. I had a baby hatched a couple days ago. I noticed it was starting to fail. It was eating and drinking but not doing well. Well I checked it out. It's vent is closed except for like a pinhole size. It can't poop. Even pressing on it like you would to extract poop you can only get a tiny pinsize drop of liquid out. There just isn't a place for it to go. I don't think I have ever heard of that happening before. I am sure it will pass fairly soon. There is just nothing I can do for it. I can't help but wonder what on earth caused that problem. Other chicks from that group are doing great. I am sure it will die from it's own toxins. Poor thing!

I hope they find out what's going on with your dad, that has to be miserable for him. I'm sorry about your little chick, I guess they get birth defects just like anything else.

Pikeman, wow that was quite an attack by that hawk. I can't imagine one being that bold like that, but maybe it was starving. I know all the predators have been worse this winter. I hope your hens recover OK.

I have some more sick chickens this morning. The ones that were worse yesterday seem some better today, so maybe the Denagard is helping. I do have one little Gold Lakenvelder that is gasping for air this morning, just like the Red Star hen was the other day. They look like they're on their last leg when they do that. She came outside & is walking around, but sits down & gasps for awhile. I don't know whether to keep giving them the Denagard or change to Tylan or Sulmet.

Danz, my friend Jessica had said she thought the other little goat would stay nearby too if I had the smaller one on the leash, but I'm just a little reluctant yet to let her out since she is so skittish at this point. She does come over by me when I'm bottle feeding the little one, she's just really curious about what she's drinking & she can smell that milk. She just isn't tame enough yet for me to really touch her unless I have her pinned in somewhere. I'm hoping she will get tamed down some with me going out there a couple times a day to feed Penny. The people I got her from told me if I had the time to just take a book out & sit out there with them & read, it would get her used to me. I never really thought I would like goats so much, but I'm really enjoying especially this little one since she is so tame. I would love to find a dappled boer, but I probably won't be able to afford one, they're kind of pricey. They're so pretty though, they're spotted & can be red & white, brown & white, or black & white. I really like the black & white ones, the contrast is stunning.


"So I woke up sick. Bleah. I think I have a sinus infection, but it's kicking my butt. I took some non-drowsy decongestant, but I think it's still going to put me to sleep here in a bit. Took some asprin because my neck and body aches a bit. I could scream I am so freakin' sick of winter.

I keep hoping my silkies are going to lay any day now-- they are driving me NUTS! LAY darn you all!!! hahahhaa! Okay, I need to go rest."

I hope you feel better soon, that's miserable. I'm with you on the sick of winter bit, I'm about as done with winter as I can be. I know exactly what you mean too about waiting & waiting for your birds to lay. I'm in the same boat here with most all of the ones I moved to the new coop. It just makes me angry that my DH messed around so long with getting that coop done. If he hadn't done that I could have moved the birds sooner & probably had eggs by now. I'm doing the waiting game on every group of breeding birds I have except for the wheaten Ameraucanas, it's so aggravating.

 

[chicken danz]

I'm with you Hawkeye. I am sick today too. Same thing. I am freezing and can't get warm. I am sure it is just a sinus thing and probably from being out in the cold too much the last several days plus getting worn down. I don't feel awful per say cause I have a sinus infection about 80% of the time but I am just totally freezing to death and my throat is sore from sinus crap. I haven't gotten outside to feed and water yet. If I am cold in here it will be worse out there. I took some tylenol but it hasn't broke the fever yet. Wish I could just lay down and take a nap.
The little chick born without a normal vent passed already. Poor thing. I probably wouldn't have figured it out if he hadn't been eating and drinking normally up until the last few hours. His poor tummy was really distended which helped indicate where to look.
Trish buy some cheap butter cookies for your little goat. They are suckers for treats and love them. Dollar General has them for maybe $150 for a nice big package. They say Yes, No or Maybe on the cookies them selves. It was my goats favorites. Once the little goat gets a taste it will beg for them. I had one of my goats trained to sit on her back end like a dog and beg for them.
Sending you a PM about something else as well.

 

[Trish44]

I'm with you Hawkeye. I am sick today too. Same thing. I am freezing and can't get warm. I am sure it is just a sinus thing and probably from being out in the cold too much the last several days plus getting worn down. I don't feel awful per say cause I have a sinus infection about 80% of the time but I am just totally freezing to death and my throat is sore from sinus crap. I haven't gotten outside to feed and water yet. If I am cold in here it will be worse out there. I took some tylenol but it hasn't broke the fever yet. Wish I could just lay down and take a nap.
The little chick born without a normal vent passed already. Poor thing. I probably wouldn't have figured it out if he hadn't been eating and drinking normally up until the last few hours. His poor tummy was really distended which helped indicate where to look.
Trish buy some cheap butter cookies for your little goat. They are suckers for treats and love them. Dollar General has them for maybe $150 for a nice big package. They say Yes, No or Maybe on the cookies them selves. It was my goats favorites. Once the little goat gets a taste it will beg for them. I had one of my goats trained to sit on her back end like a dog and beg for them.
Sending you a PM about something else as well.

Yeah, I'll have to try some different treats & see what she likes. She comes over when I'm feeding Penny, but as soon as I reach out towards her she is off. I just need to find out what she likes the best. That's too bad about the little chick, but like you say there wasn't anything you could do for it.

 

[pikeman94]

A quick update. All of the "Spice Girls", that is what DD calls them, are doing fine today. Since it is snowing here they haven't come out of the coop. Part of me thinks this is because of the attack yesterday. Tomorrow should be a normal day before the next snow storm hits. Yes, I said snow storm. The forecasters up here don't know how much yet, but that we will get snow. What a way to ring in Spring!

 

[michelleml]

Pikeman - that is just crazy glad that the spice girls are doing good.


We had snow a good 4-5 in it was coming down like crazy. When does spring start to show up around here. My grass is turning green and i think the Lily's are starting to come up. Back home it's already in the 80's (tx).
Stay warm everyone.

Michelle

 

[HEChicken]

Michelle, I've been in KS 13 years but this seems like a weird winter/spring to me. I would say that normally winter is Jan/Feb and by March its pretty much spring. But this year we had such a mild January and then Feb really turned on the winter weather and now in March we're still getting snow in the forecast. I think we're all done with the weather and so ready for it to be spring already. I look at my garden patch and my coop and my lawn and my horses and just want to get on with things but with another snowstorm in the immediate forecast, I have to put all those things off again.

Danz, sorry about the little chick - nothing you could have done about it.

Hawkeye and Danz, sorry you are feeling sick. The frequent ups and downs in temp probably don't help a bit.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I have missed alot of posts.. This has been a busy site.

Everyone is talking about the snow,,

I am so over the snow.. I hope it just rains and moves out...