Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

So far behind. My internet was down all day yesterday after the morning and I had to finally relocate my hub this morning to get it working.

Chicken danz- I gave probably half the capsule of vit E to the chick she will drink it as it comes out which is so much easier. I gave the turkey 1 tsp of tylenol and I am about to vet wrap it after I check out the under side.

A teaspoon of tylenol if way too much. For a full grown turkey I would give about .4 ml. That is how my dropper is marked. Did you vet wrap her ankle for support? Is she wants to sit on your lap you might take 15 minutes and try applying an ice bag to her ankle.

Quote:

I have been having an issue with my coop smelling like ammonia EVERY morning. That in and of itself worries me. I've been trying to figure out how to add more ventilation without making the coop COLD for this winter. I plan on adding two windows on the back (north) side, but I am hesitant to do so right before winter. That, and we've got our hands full with getting things ready for the horses right now. Once that's done, I'll need to finish my duck house (add more ventilation) and duck run (add a roof, re-inforce the sides, and add wire to prevent predators from digging under. I may post pictures of my duck house to get opinions from all of you here on BYC. My coop is made of OSB and so I've been trying to be very careful to make sure that the inside doesn't get wet... Not sure how to add more ventilation without risking rain/snow getting inside.
Thank you for understanding and for the re-assurance.
"Hey! I'm really good at giving advice I don't follow very well." - Oh danz, you are so funny! I slowed down a little bit yesterday, only to realize that I completely forgot about the ONE thing on my to-do list that REALLY needed to be done. GRRRRR. It's nicer out today, so hopefully my DH and I will be able to get something done on the pasture.

Thanks, everyone, for the understanding and advice!

Lizzy why do you close the door on the duck coop? Is this a safety issue against predators? My duck coops have open doors, two of them on each one in fact. I use something similar to Trish but I just went and bought a vent cover like you would use in a wall vent in your house. It was only $3-$4 at the Hardware store or lumber yard. It has the slats that close on the inside with a thumb latch so I can open and close it. But because the vetnt ribs are so small you don't have to close it. Nothing gets in except some air.

maidenwolf, we LOVE sweet potatoes. I canned and canned and fried a ton, but I kept bringing the raw scraps out to the older chickens and they ate it fine. I wonder if just put a bunch in the oven to soften them they younger ones could eat them better. That wouldn't take so much effort. It's been a couple of days since I canned them, my hands are still all gross looking. We still have more to harvest. We've been to Harvesters before, my dh's parents live your direction so sometimes we go and figure it sort of pays for the gas that way and we get to visit.
I love sweet potatoes too. I need to get out and dig mine. I hope they produced!!! So would someone please tell me what Harvesters is and where it is located, what days and times it is operating? I think I could use a place like that.
OMGosh Lizzy! That's terrible. Fresh or salt water? Is there any way that you can identify the germ to be sure you have the right med? I'm sorry you are going through this, I only have one tank left becuase I just got so tired of cleaning them. I don't clean them that often though, that's a lot. Do you know where the sickness came from? I'm sorry you are going through this, it does sound like you have a lot on your plate.
Lizzy I tried to post yesterday and don't remember if it went through. Buy some formalin.I bought some on line in a quart bottle and use it for everything aquarium related both salt and fresh.
Lizzy your ducks will do fine even in the cold winters out there. Mine only stay in the house when it is really super super cold and freezing rain or heavy snow. They seem to thrive in the cold. I use shavings in most of the pens but use straw in the duck houses. They love to snuggle down in the straw. I don't have doors to shut but the north side is totally closed to cut winter winds.
maidenwolf, I'm worried you're giving too much Tylenol. 1 tsp. of children's is 80 mg, right? That's the same as 1 chewable. I give a 1yr old 1 chewable at about 25 lbs. How much does the bird weigh? Danz, we need you. What's the people dose for the vit E? If you divided down by weight ven a few drops would be plenty. Danz, can we OD them? What signs would you look for? Danz, if you get around to taking pics that would be great but don't stress over it. What caught my attention was that you said 'bins'. I want to see how it works. We are making a brooder room in the barn. This room has very deep shelving that was built to hold my Rubbermaid storage containers. We don't need this room for storage anymore. When I walked in there, my first thought was that I could install the lamps on the underside of the shelving and use tubs underneath to keep the chicks. My DH wanted to make it nicer, he's going to build a front equipped with doors and divide them. What size would be ideal? I'm thinking not too big while they are tiny. What I don't like is that I will have to reach around a bit to clean them out. I'm not so sure that just using tubs wouldn't be more simple and easier to keep sanitized. The benefit of building a door is that there would be absolutely no way for anything to get in there becuase he plans to use wood/wire and it'll fit. If I go back to the tub idea, I will want to make a stronger effort to make sure the entire room is secure, which isn't that hard, but I would still feel better if they were locked in with that wire. He doesn't want to build the doors big enough to take the tubs in and out. Any suggestions or advice? I appeciate the opportunity to benefit from your experience. I need to get outside with my camera but it all looks so junky yet it's all functional. I gotta go check the muffins.

I didn't get pics taken yesterday. Very busy day. I do use big rubbermaid bins in the house for chicks. But in the brooder I have dividers that are put together with strong ties so if I want to change the configuration I just remove about 4 screws. I'll see if I can get pictures later. I also have panels made I can put on top of each section to keep them from flying out when they get older. I need to get some of those back in there. My oldest Sweedish flower hens and some guineas won't stay put.

I'm way behind again -- getting ready for relatives this weekend! Just wanted to pop in quickly. So here's how things go. I had eggs scheduled for hatch tomorrow, which would mean I have one or two left to hatch on Saturday when family would be here. As luck would have it, those little buggers are popping out of their shells like popcorn tonight! LOL! Oh well. Safe arrivals are the main thing. All my German New Hamps and Wellies are doing well, too, and the Swedish in the pen outside are doing great.

After the relatives are gone, I've got to get back to work! I need to cut another ventilation window for window also. I have it marked, just need to get in there and get busy.

Oh crap! There're those darn coyotes again. Gotta go yell "BANG!"

Hope the relatives don't wear you out! Maybe while they are there they could shoot off some bottle rockets for you!!!

I found out today that it's not going to be possible to buy bulk feed around here. I don't have a feed hopper or grain cart of any kind & they will only load 1100 pounds just right into your truck or whatever. I can't put that much weight in my old truck & I can't imagine shoveling 1100 pounds of layer feed from the truck to something else anyway. They sure don't make it easy for anybody wanting to buy in bulk. I know some CO-OPs will load into barrels because I have seen posts on the swaps about it, but not around here.
I bring a huge tarp and lay that in back of one of the pickups. I also have 4 old tires I use to hold the tarp down after it is loaded but anything, pallets or wood or what have you will do that will keep it from blowing. I just pull under the shoot, they load it and spread it out, and then help me pull the tarp over the top and put the tires on. I only use a half ton pickup and with the load spread over the axles it can hold way more than that. I don't see why a pick up couldn't handle it? It's not the same as pulling weight so it is very capable of the load. DH says I could load up to a ton on the pickup if I have to.
Well I haven't found the other two little guineas as of yet. I figured they would come out at dark & be sitting out there where I could see them, but they didn't. I hope they didn't get lost inbetween a bunch of boxes or something & can't find their way out. I got the other 3 moved out to the peacock/guinea pen. It was kind of funny that the biggest one is the biggest scaredy cat, it just yelled it's head off & flew around like something was after if when I first put them in there. The other two just went along with the crowd like they usually do.
You have the worst problems with those guineas! My dogs kill rabbits as well but don't eat them. I haven't been able to write my daughter since my net was down.
I haven't been feeling all that well today, I think my DH gave me his cold darn him. He always likes to share his colds & coughs with me, I wish he wouldn't. I really don't have the time right now to be sick.

Sorry you aren't feeling well. I was outside so much yesterday that I am super congested today and my eyes are swollen. Fall allergies just totally kick my butt.

I go to Sams for specific items, too. I can get various berries (blueberries, blackberries, kiwi berries etc. much cheaper than anywhere else. On the other hand, Strawberries have been cheaper all summer elsewhere. Aldi's has had avocados for 29 cents off and on all summer. What a deal. You owe it to yourself to keep track of pricing (unless you are independently wealthy). Sams is great for some things, and they have some things you can't get anywhere else, but you really have to watch the pricing.

Sharol

On the subject of Sam's club, Aldi, Dillons, and Walmart. Here is what I have found. Dillons has always been super high at least for what I buy, unless it is something on their savings program, bonus buy or whatever they call it. I do have a card I just rarely go there.
Aldi always has the best prices on produce of anyone. You just can't expect to find every thing you are looking for. I used to shop Aldi all the time because even some of their canned goods are just as good or better than name brand and much much cheaper. I just don't go there because all of these places are at least 40 minutes from me and I forget about them. I do go there if my sister mentions some special bargain she got though.
I buy lots of groceries at Walmart if I am there anyway. It depends on what you buy but I normally find better prices there. Sometimes produce is super high and sometimes it is a total bargain. It just depends on what it is.
I love Sams club. I think the thing with Sam's club is most things are geared to business size and or large quantities. If you wnat the bargains you need to buy in bulk. I often do simply because I just don't like to go shopping. I would much rather stock pile than go once a week. There are many things there you can't begin to find even close to the same price elsewhere.
And the gas in Topeka anyway is always way cheaper than any where else with your card. Maybe it is different in the Wichita area??
I am very spoiled to some things I buy there. I just can't get them any where else or near their price. I do tend to shop for specific items when I am there though. I don't know that I would want to buy all my groceries there.
Posted by maidenwolfx80
So sorry you are doing bad again! I do hope you get this controlled. You are in my prayers. You poor thing!

It's cool and dreery and windy out. I thought it was supposed to be warmer out today. Guess I missed the weather last night. It was quite a busy day for me yesterday. Since I couldn't get the fence panels in the peafowl pen to make the divider I spent the afternoon building pens within the pen. I got it all done except making the gate. I did move the peachicks and my precious little lap pullet out there last night. I felt so guilty!! I still have to make a gate but otherwise it is done. I decided I can close them up after the gate is done and move my pullet out to the other chickens when the two peachicks get used to being around each other.
My little white peachick has been displaying quite a bit so I am pretty sure he is a boy. I sure hope the cameo turns out to be a girl but I have my doubts. It just seems to act like a boy. I'll move the white eyed pair out there once the others can be shut up. I also went back and redid a lot of what I had done the day before. Mostly cause DH made a comment about it was a good job with a little fine tuning. So I took my rush job and finished it so it looked a little more professional. I decided to make the seocnnd half of the shelter so I could easily gate it as well. That way if I need to seperate the other half for some reason I can do so. I could also go back in later and divide the entire pen into two pens fairly easily. Between all the bending and screwing in screws though I am one sore mess today.
After that job, DH said he couldn't get the second ton of bird seed off loaded into the sea van. We needed a fork lift for sure! So we had to unpallet it and hand load forty 50 pound bags ands stack them. Needless to say this old girl got a work out. He said I shouldn't be doing it but I knew it wouldn't get done if I didn't just jump in there. I must say that seed is amazing. I told him had I known it was that great I would have probably gotten 2 more ton. I hope to find time to take a picture of some I opened. I mixed some with the regular feed last night as a trial to see how they liked it. I think they would probably enjoy it more like scratch but they were having a grand time picking out pieces last night.
I'll certainly be buying more of it when I run out.
I was supposed to get some of the wild roosters caught for today and just totally ran out of time. I don't have nearly enough eggs for my customers either. Way too many girls in molt right now, and way too many laying where they shouldn't be. I hope I don't loose customers because I am short of eggs. I am wishing I'd kept a few more of the girls I sold.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Chicken Danz-- thank you. I feel terrible for her. I gave her the smaller dose of tylenol today with some poly vitamins,, cant hurt... I did vet wrap her ankle and she kept it on, such a good girl, and I sit with her on my lap and comfort her when I go out and she settles down and rests. I will do the ice on her and see how that helps. Thank you so so much, I love all my chickens and turkeys and feel helpless when I cant fix it.

They are my nonhuman children and I want them to be happy and healthy. I know it is not realistic to think noone will get hurt or sick but as a mom that is what we always strive for. Again that is what we are here for as moms also, to make it better when we can. Thank you for everything

 

[chicken danz]

*****please advise***** The night before last I candled eggs and had nearly 50 developing. Yesterday I turned the eggs as usual at about 1pm. When I went back to turn them before bed, 10pm, the incubator was at 78 degrees. I found the plug hanging in the outlet so it wasn't getting any juice. The max amount of time it was this low was about 9 hours, it probably wasn't that long becuase it was really hot in the kitchen while I was cooking about 5pm, the incubator is on a counter that I don't use for cooking, on the back wall of the kitchen. I went ahead and turned them and turned it back on. I was too upset to even get online to ask. Is there any chance that these will make it? I feel bad just tossing them withouth knowing. I took notes when I candled, I have each egg numbered and I marked on my paper which ones I saw movement which was probably the heartbeat. If I go back to those eggs and don't see that anymore would it be safe to assume they are done? If I see movement on even 1 would go ahead and run them through. They are at about 12-13 days now. I will duct tape the plug to the wall so it won't ever happen again. Thanks everyone for your input.

Leave them alone and keep incubating. As long as the internal temp of the egg didn't drop too far they will be fine. Give it a few more days then candle a couple more. Keep in mind you can't see movement forever. Often times as the chicks get bigger it is pretty hard to see anything. We've all dealt with power outages and such. It turns out well more often than not.

 

[HEChicken]

Tweety, I meant to say also, sorry you had another relapse and an awful week. Since you ended with the question about the opposum, I got so busy replying to that I forgot to reply to your first paragraph

I wanted to update everyone on Cyrus. After the last time he jumped me, I started seriously thinking about replacing him. Just as I was about to make that decision, I realized something. In almost every way, Cyrus is the rooster I wanted. He is extremely vigilant about watching what is happening in his environment, and warns the flock to hide if he senses any kind of threat. He is awesome about finding treats for them - and pretty much refuses to eat treats himself, instead calling them over to get all of the treats. And, fertility is good but he is not over-mating them. A few of my hens look ragged at the moment but its from molt, not Cyrus.

So I started to realize that the only reason I would be replacing him is because of these confrontations that occur every few days, and if I do, I might end up with a rooster that is nicer to me but doesn't serve the above functions nearly as well. Its a toss up - the devil you know, kind of thing.

The other thing about the confrontations is that he never jumps me from behind or when I am otherwise unawares. Instead, it is really more like he is challenging another rooster. The attacks come from the front, when we are facing one another.

However, all of the things I have tried to date have not deterred him. I tried sparring with him as you would another rooster, but even though I "won" the spar every time, it was only a temporary respite before he would try again. I tried picking him up and carrying him around to "humiliate" him in front of the flock. He didn't think that was the least bit embarrassing. I tried holding him upside down by his legs and carrying him that way until he stopped fighting me and just hung, then gently putting him back down. That didn't do it either.

The other day, I inadvertently found something that seems to be working better than any of the recommended methods I had previously tried. I was standing in the yard on Wednesday morning and, as usual, he was keeping himself between me and the hens. I was lost in thought and just kind of standing, enjoying the nice day, and that lasted quite a few minutes - maybe 5-7 where I wasn't moving and neither was he. Then he just walked away from me. After that, the feeling around the coop was very relaxed - he was off foraging with the hens and I went about my business cleaning water bowls and what not. Since then, although he still approaches me every time I go out there, now I just stand still and face him until HE walks away. I think the thing before was that in his mind, if I walked away, he had won, even though I was only walking away to continue my chores - not because he had intimidated me. He didn't know that and got quite "cocky" (pardon the pun), thinking I was afraid of him. Now that I am refusing to turn my back on him and walk away - and waiting until he turns and walks away from me, it seems to have shifted the balance of power. Originally I thought this could get very time-consuming, if I have to stand still for 5-7 minutes at a time, but over the few days I've been doing this, the amount of time we stand and look at one another has decreased. This morning it was only 20-30 seconds before he turned and walked off. It has been quite some time now since he physically challenged me. The second or third time we had the stand off, I noticed he was cocking his head this way and that eyeing me, probably trying to figure out what I was doing.

Anyway, since this seems to be working, I'm going to play it through to see how far we can take it.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Quote:
Lizzy why do you close the door on the duck coop? Is this a safety issue against predators? My duck coops have open doors, two of them on each one in fact. I use something similar to Trish but I just went and bought a vent cover like you would use in a wall vent in your house. It was only $3-$4 at the Hardware store or lumber yard. It has the slats that close on the inside with a thumb latch so I can open and close it. But because the vetnt ribs are so small you don't have to close it. Nothing gets in except some air.

I have seriously been considering leaving the door open, but I am concerned about predators. The coop is in the duck run, and the duck run isn't finished yet. Getting the property ready for the horses has taken priority since there's a solid deadline for that. The duck run has chicken wire sides that stand 6 1/2 feet tall with another foot and a half running along the ground (on 2 sides) to keep things from digging under. The other two sides need more work to get the wire to run along the ground and then cover the wire to make it less obvious. The run is wedged between two tree lines, and it would be VERY easy for a coon, possum or other predator to climb a tree and jump over the fence as I don't yet have a roof on the pen. I also plan to reinforce the chicken wire sides using 2"X4" welded wire. I just haven't had time to do it yet. Until the duck run is done, I do plan on closing the door on the duck coop.

For vents, I decided to go ahead and buy the 2" soffit under-eave vents. I'll put at least one on each side, as close as I can to the tallest point of the roof. Then, I'll probably try it out for a while and see if I need more ventilation. If I need more, I can put more of the soffit vents on the sides. I might be able to put one in the doors on the front as well, though I'm not sure about that 'cuz I know the doors require more support and I don't want to throw a wrench in things by putting a hole in the door. I also found a roof vent that I can use if I have to.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

HEChicken-- That is great to hear about Cyrus. I also have a roo that I had thouht about getting rid of because he does get aggressive. If you think about how each behavior reads to a chicken it becomes alittle easier to figure out what upset them and or how to deal with the problem. I also did not want to get rid of him because he is gentle with his girls and even though he is bantam will stand up to the feral cats when he sees one. He warns everyone and tells everyone were food is and lets everyone eat first, once he sees everyone is eating he will eat. What a gentleman. He doesnt like new people and will spar with their ankles when they get too close to the coop everyone except me. That was a bad thing but after I taught my kids how to back him down they dont get it anymore. I just have to warn people that I do have an attack roo lol. Since people dont come to my house too often it isnt an inconcinence. What we did was when he came up with hackles raised or side stepping dragging his wing we would stand still and kind of take a defensive posture, if he attacked we would step forward or to the side and stop and if he kept it up we would walk towrds him until he backed down, I had the kids take special treats out just for him and not too long after he stopped attacking them.. Dunno if that helps but that is my story.. Good luck

 

[chicken danz]

Cherwill I forgot to mention about your grandpa. Made me smile. My first several upholstery jobs were done with upholstery tacks. That takes a lot more work and very sore fingers! I still use them occasionally. I use them when tying springs cause nothing else works on these old springs.
And Tweety, I also forgot to say yes possums do eat chickens. They will kill them and eat the meat leaving the bones and outside.
Sounds like you have found a new answer to an age old question Hechicken. I am just thankful to date I don't have a mean rooster. I am wondering how my orp boys will turn out because I've heard they tend to get a little that way. I hope not!
Lizzy I understand your concern. Better to be safe than sorry!
I really need to get in gear but I'm not looking forward to being out in the wind and weather.

 

[mommahen10]

Lizzy, it really sounds like you are doing everything that you can possibly do to help your fish. What I don't get is that the one take I do still have is a huge very tall narrow tank. It goes to the floor and is taller than I am. When a fish dies and goes to the bottom, I can't get it out. When the kids drop things in it, I can't get that out either. I always wanted a tank that the kids could walk up to and watch at their eye level, that's why I keep this one. BUT... I NEVER clean it, seroiusly haven't ever cleaned it since putting it up. I think the difference is that yours is fully stocked, making it more important to keep it super clean. I'm sorry you are going through this. I would suggest putting them in a smaller tank while treating to make it easier for you but you can't really do that with a lot of fish. I think you have diagnosed it right and are dealing with it in the best possible way. I hope they get over this quickly. It sounds like you got some excellent advice and ideas about the ventilation in your coop, I'm so thankful because I'm no good at that stuff. I bet your soffit vents will be just enough. We use hay in our coops, because it's free and it's not good hay for feeding animals. It's working. We also have fine gravel in our big coop and I'll say I wouldn't consider that to be working sometimes. There was a time it smelled badly of ammonia but it was for a few days and it just stopped. There's no way to clean it. We can scrape the top layer but that's it. I put the hay on top in the bad areas so I can remove and replace that.

HEChicken, thanks for the good info on ventilation and drafts in the coop. That's some smart thinking.

Kansas Prairie, that is beautiful advice to live by. Boo for flu shot dates, that's no fun. maidenwolf, I never knew there was a difference in the color of the bulb, what does that do? Maybe they just don't need as much heat.

Trish, hope your cold is short lived and you are better quickly. Where is sunflowerparrot anyway? I haven't seen any new posts in a while.

cherwill, when I used the multi-quote I was constantly losing my posts. I've been typing on notepad and then copy/paste. It ends up not being so long this way, not that it matters. You're right about everyone caring for their birds. Yesterday the kids and I were talking about not naming animals we will consume. We decided we could if we want to and it's okay to love and enjoy them while they're here and appreciate them when they're gone. It's really okay to tell your extended family no. Tell them that you have things you need to do for your own family or home or whatever. You shouldn't have to neglect your own life to take care of theirs. It's different if it's going two ways too. If you spend your best energy helping with their work then what do you have left for yours? I'm not saying you shouldn't ever help, but they shouldn't be relying on your and expecting you to do it either. It only looked like a monster post becuase of the multi-quote, it makes it big because it reposts everything. It was still fast to read because I didn't re-read everyone's posts.

For those of us who have a hard time saying no, how about setting limits? How about saying I will do one thing per week helping someone else outside of my immediate family. Or whatever time you can budget. Maybe that would help. When your times slots are done then you have to say no. I always say being true to your family means being true to them with everything; your heart, your money, your time, your energy. Your family, with or without kids has to come first.

I only buy basics on groceries and I buy most at Sam's. I made a chart and took each item to the other local stores to confirm that I was getting a better deal and I was. We really aren't spending much on groceries right now, we have tons of home canned and frozen food, meat is chicken and venison. We are buying a little meat, milk is coming from our neighbor which we still pay $3 per gallon but that's still slightly more than it is at Sam's in Overland Park. Paper products are always cheaper at Sam's. We only have Walmart to shop at for groceries, there is a Save A Lot, and one little grocery store. I can't always find what I need. I don't go shopping often, just for a few items. I find it best to stay out of the stores. It's better for the pocket book and my schedule.

maidenwolf, I'm so glad that your chick is doing better. I hope the other chick and turkey recover quickly too.

Tweety, I'm sorry to hear you are still having a hard time, that's no fun at all. When do you go back to the specialist? I would be worried about the opossum. That's good that you have a plan to get rid of it.

Harvesters, I'm pretty sure it's tomorrow morning and it's at a church in Paola, it's an Assembly of God church.

Danz to the rescue!!!! Thanks, I will keep turning the eggs as usual. It's really not that much longer. It's always something, ALWAYS!!!! I've been so careful. I'm going to go secure the plug right now so I don't get a repeat.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. My dh is home today, lets see what we get done. Yay!!! Have a great day!!!

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Thank you Mommahen--
the color of the bulb is dimmer not so bright on little eyes, helps when it is time for them to sleep. It is supposed to reduce pecking.. I think I will have the big 250 watt on during the day an dthe red at night maybe to help them get used to night and day patterns. Last night I kept it on for them and turned the white one off and they slept so sound. that is the first night they slept all the way thru and didnt make a peep until I turned the light on in the bathroom this morning.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Tweety, I meant to say also, sorry you had another relapse and an awful week. Since you ended with the question about the opposum, I got so busy replying to that I forgot to reply to your first paragraph

LOL - Don't think twice about it! I'd actually had a great couple weeks before that, so If i can find out what I did wrong this time, then maybe I can have another great couple weeks again. I'm thinking that I caught a head cold and it messed up my tummy that began this whole icky cycle again. I can't wait till Nov 2nd. I'm going to KU Med to do a treatment that will inject botox into my stomach and hopefully that till fix my problem for a good 6 months. Keep your fingers crossed that it works!

So on my way to picking up meds from the pharmacy, I stopped by Ace Hardware and got a live trap. Any suggestions as to what I should put in there? I'm going to set it right outside the coop door where we saw it leaving. I'm hoping that it was a solitary animal that we can relocate that that will be that. At least it's not the spring when it could have been a momma and her babies. We have a large wooded area right across the street, so i'm sure that's where it's living during the day.