Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

RoyalChick · Oct 19, 2024

Ponypoor said:
Yes, hawks will swoop in and hit the prey from above and kill them by breaking a neck.

I have seen diff ent species of hawk do this. They either sit in a tree and ambush their pray, or (and this is what I mostly see) hover overhead and then plummet very quickly (so very fast!) to the ground on top of their prey and kill it by breaking its neck.

Clyde is very lucky, a larger hawk would have instantly killed him, but this was a young Cooper’s hawk around the same size as Clyde. If the hawk has attacked Georgie it would have been a different outcome, which is why I was so freaked out scream for Georgie. She is the smallest (next to the bantams) and the most vulnerable. Today she gets a buzz cut - no more cute fluffy topknot. She needs her eyes to use, more than I need to see a cutesy fluffy hairdo.

The funny thing is, the crows where chasing away a larger hawk not half an hr earlier, it was wheeling around high up - I know they can see prey from way up there, and I know they can drop at astonishing speed from those heights to kill prey.

But as I was seeing it being harassed by the crows I didn’t think much of it. But this distraction of the crows with that larger raptor gave the smaller younger one the opportunity to slip in and try to get dinner.

The crows and bluejays were off chasing that big raptor not hanging out here as they normally do.

So this was likely the same hawk that was causing all the ruckus last weekend. Waiting for a break in the alert system (crows and blue jays) to make its move.

Smart birds!

So now my crew has to be kept under cover and they will not like that - too bad, they need to be protected from themselves.

Poor Clyde.
This is exactly what happened with Pooh. I think that was a juvenile Cooper’s hawk too. Not much bigger than Pooh. I am sure if the hawk had been more experienced it would have been all over for her. She fought like crazy and of course Bernie came to the rescue as did I.
Very scary.
So sorry. I am sure your blood pressure went sky high.

Sylvester017 · Oct 19, 2024

SimpleJenn said:
The past 2 nights he's been out on the perch instead of inside so I have to put him to bed.
View attachment 3968372
Just like Bab is always on an outside roost.
View attachment 3968373
However, Ric Flair is always in bed on time haha.
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Love those Polish crests! Europeans love their Polish so much many of them dedicate their flock to all Polish only. Love the spotlight on Bab!

As for outside roosts ~ our Blue Breda "Phaedra" always roosted in our old coop run. She never went into the large nestboxes like the Silkies, Leghorns, or Ameraucana did. We just locked the run & covered most of it w/ tarp so Phaedra would be shielded from any night draft.
(2014)

TOMTE · Oct 19, 2024

Sylvester017 said:
Love those Polish crests! Europeans love their Polish so much many of them dedicate their flock to all Polish only. Love the spotlight on Bab!

As for outside roosts ~ our Blue Breda "Phaedra" always roosted in our old coop run. She never went into the large nestboxes like the Silkies, Leghorns, or Ameraucana did. We just locked the run & covered most of it w/ tarp so Phaedra would be shielded from any night draft.
(2014)
View attachment 3968409
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Were they having a pillow fight in there?!

featherhead007 · Oct 19, 2024

Just before she’s forced to go to bed, CeeCee will be found every night sitting on here:

TOMTE · Oct 19, 2024

Just had ANOTHER hawk flyby. 3 chickens under the overturned tractor trailer, one under the shelter we built, the last one was lying in the driveway half under the car and didn't move until I went to herd her over to the trailer. They really need to work on their coordination

The crows chased the hawk off but it'll be back. They rarely stay away for longer than a couple hours here.

Sylvester017 · Oct 19, 2024

Ponypoor said:
I won’t cover the whole yard. I am only interested in predator proofing the Rooster Run (what I call the run). It is 16’ x 95’ and has three large coniferous trees and the Cherry tree to work around.

The thing I want to do is to put some roofing over part of the run closest to the barn so that they can go out there in the rainy and snowy cold weather.

Putting netting over the run isn’t financially practical here during the winter. The heavy snow load would just tear it up. So it would have to be something I can easily remove for the winter, but put in place when there is no snow or freezing rain.

The big yard will be reserved for when I am sitting out there watching them.

The cover sounds like a massive project ~ especially slanting the roof to allow snow or rain to slide off.

But protection builds never stopped for us either. Each year we slowly added more & more security items to the yard ~ we added both resin & wood lawn furniture, large resin dog houses which we recycled from trash or donations, chopped down a very old useless tree, planted new thorny fruit trees which gladly our hawks never sit in, added two roofed patios to the house, replaced chainlink fencing w/ a property-surrounded block wall, replaced flimsy warped wooden gates w/ new strong ironbar gates, & erected 3 popup canopies (we live in a no-snow zone but if we did we would've put up sturdier resin gazebos instead of popups), plus we replaced a small wood coop/run w/a larger shed/barn coop w/dog kennel wire run for lockup after dark. It's been 14 years of very slow yard transformation, $$$, & hard work & everything we did was always w/ gentle hens in mind since we aren't zoned for roos. When/if we no longer have chickens the yard will still be nice for a yard dog if we choose.

Your setup is nice because half your battle is complete having a barn to house & protect livestock/poultry from weather/night predators. Take one project at a time rather than getting over-whelmed at the whole picture of what needs to be done outdoors. You are doing so well!

We had an old horse barn on my folks' farm, a canning storage wood shed almost as big as a barn, and a large wooden tool shed built by Pop ~ he was a great tinkerer, car mechanic, & handyman. There was no electricity to these outbuildings & had to rely on windows or open doors for light. As the folks aged well into their later age 50's they knew their senior years could not keep up maintaining livestock or the orchards so they moved away. It was a culture shock for me to move from spacious quiet farmlife to live in a city suburb!

c. 1951 ~ Pop & me in the orchard

No 079 - Sylvia around 8-9 years with father Norman on Vista farm.png

bgmathteach · Oct 19, 2024

featherhead007 said:
Just before she’s forced to go to bed, CeeCee will be found every night sitting on here:View attachment 3968418

Oooooh, looks like she is apprenticing with the TSG of the UFCLU!

(Tree sitters Guild of the United Federated Chicken Labor Union). You know, apprentices get a meal worm apiece daily for their work. Journeymen are allotted 2...just an FYI. Full fledged/licensed card carrying members get 4...so just be prepared to open your wallet a bit more for meally-worm costs. AND, be careful that she doesn't encourage others to join the union! I have half a flock that decided the bennies were worth the initiation cost of the union! :lau

Sylvester017 · Oct 19, 2024

TOMTE said:
Just had ANOTHER hawk flyby. 3 chickens under the overturned tractor trailer, one under the shelter we built, the last one was lying in the driveway half under the car and didn't move until I went to herd her over to the trailer. They really need to work on their coordination

The crows chased the hawk off but it'll be back. They rarely stay away for longer than a couple hours here.

Boy!!! What is it w/ all these hawk visitations we're all getting?! A hawk flyby is good to step up the hens' awareness; otherwise the hens get comfortably careless.

Sylvester017 · Oct 19, 2024

TOMTE said:
Were they having a pillow fight in there?!

Yep, moulting time ~ enough for a comforter stuffing :gig

ManueB · Oct 19, 2024

FBA chicken synopsis

12 to 19 October.

Link to last week's synopsis.

Fly high, dear Popcorn. You will be missed by everyone on FBA and most of all by your friend @ChicoryBlue .
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@BY Bob :