Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Shadrach]

Oops missed this post when I replied.
I have friends who live right on the water in an inlet in CT and you can see the eagles fish from their dining room table. I think those are some kind of sea eagle not the bald eagles. Amazing sight nonetheless.

I've got one of these living in the woods about 150 metres away. I rarely bothers the chickens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_falconThis is what kills more chickens than any other predator here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_goshawk

 

[BY Bob]

You'll go completely gaga with a broody and hatching chicks Bob.
They get me every time and then I spend the next month to six weeks worrying myself to death the the hen doesn't get killed protecting the chicks. That is absolutely heartbreaking.
Put very brutally, chicks are a dime a dozen, establishhed hens that will hatch are rather more valuable to the tribe and to me.

I was so excited to try it this year and fill out my flock from it. Maleficent had been my first broody ever. Now that she is gone I am hopeful that someone else will step up but who knows. It's all up to them.

 

[Kris5902]

I'll take a chance. What I'll write is not by any means a popular viewpoint. There is plenty of evidence to back up what I write but it would take pages and hours to set it all out. Needless to say it's in the book.
Chickens are not flock creatures. Chickens are tribal and have been for thousands of years.
Given a choice, chickens will live with their own breed, or whatever looks and acts most similar, or those they are genetically related to.
(birds of a feather flock together while sounding a bit trite is accurate)
Jungle fowl live in small family groups comprising a rooster a hen and for a period of time, their offspring. The four main types of jungle fowl do not mix despite living in the same geographical area.
The range of each tribe can be anything from a couple of acres to five acres.
Jungle fowl are territorial and defend their territory against other tribes, often dying in the fight.
People with a lack of knowledge or an agenda will tell you the behaviour of their ancestors has been bred out of the modern chicken. The evidence suggests this isn't true. There are a number of studies that found, given the freedom, chickens will revert to their natural behaviour.
If you read a lot of posts here on BYC you will find a lot of anecdotal evidence where people will write their chickens tend to form breed groups withing a 'flock'. Usually this gets buried or not picked up on because it is not a popular view. Many people want different coloured eggs of a variety of breeds and what is good for the chicken gets overruled by what the keeper wants.
Of course, with chicken sites such as BYC part of the ethos is you can buy lots of pretty breeds and keep them all together.
Given the territory ranged by feral and jungle fowl the idea that a chicken can be content with ten square foot per bird is ludicrous. This is why many people where I live have free range flocks. They've been keeping chickens for hundreds of years.
My study/observations/experiments are about how 'domestic breeds, given the opportunity, return to their natural behaviour.
I'm in contact with a few other keepers who are also investigating this. Broadly we all see the same behaviour.
So, just like with humans, if you force chickens to live together with different breeds in close confinement, being intelligent creatures the survival of the group becomes important and they learn how to rub along. This is what the so called pecking order is.
Here each tribe makes use of an acre of home territory. If I add a tribe, then the used acreage increases.
The males here all fight each other. It's not about hens; it's about territory and resources.
Another much vaunted myth. Hens pick their roosters so there isn't much point in fighting over them. The winner doesn't get more hens.
There is lots and lots more.

You are going to have to make the book available internationally now, you realize? Fascinating... and I agree completely. We have some semi feral group of chickens forming here to go with our turkeys, it will be interesting to observe. Escaped bantam barred rocks...

That's in my daily prayers too!
Being in a more rural situation, I have to worry about predators even for my cats. I pray for their safety every time they go out. We had another eagle attack on a newborn calf in the neighborhood. The food chain has gotten a little out of whack in this neck of the woods in the last 2 years, due to poor river/dam/salmon hatchery management...
Her flock mates have all been taken by predators, specifically, eagles, so I don't know how long they would have lived.

Food chain is most certainly way out of whack! There is no way bald eagles should be actively predating calves... cleaning up a still born or such sure, once mama and the herd move off. I thought ours were overly bold in attacking the lambs, and they only really risk even that when it’s twins and mama is busy with #2.

We have anywhere from 5 to 12 pairs plus offspring here, and last year was a good year for them as far as their young go.

I thought the American Eagle is basically a carrion eater a bit like the buzzards here. The buzzards will take a chicken if it's injured or sick but generally they are not interested in hunting as such.

You are quite correct. This is highly unusual behavior for our Eagles. The behavior we see on our island is also fairly unusual, in that there are a large number of defenseless lambs being penned in the same small area for the last 30 years, which usually attracts them at lambing time. During the processing season, the inedible parts are all disposed of in an open pit, which caters better to thier scavenger instincts. There have been fewer Raven and Eagle incidents this lambing year, mostly due to 49 and Rosebud’s unusually timed demise.

It’s interesting and sad, to watch how human activities alter the normal behavior of animals in the area, and how they adapt to our encroachment. Rural raccoons are an entirely different creature from city ones, crows working together to open zippered lunchbags, and bears making “the night before garbage day” rounds. And those are just the most obvious examples.

 

[Kris5902]

American Eagles eat what they actually kill. They are not scavengers.

I think that a lot of that belief comes from national pride, but hey, that’s coming from a person whose national animal is a large semi aquatic rodent so... I also find it interesting that in most Advertising etc the picture of the bald eagle is accompanied by the call of a red tail hawk... much more majestic than the high pitched trilling sound they actually make!

In some areas, they are. I've talked to a couple Canadians and Alaskans who say so. But if you watch their eagles, there will be dozens in the same area living in harmony. Not so here. They are very territorial. We've had the same eagle's nest on this bend of the river for the 5 years I've been here and I don't know how long before that. They chase any other eagles and osprey away from their space. They eat salmon, ducks and baby geese almost exclusively, none of which are available to them right now. So, like I said, they took down a newborn calf this week. The calf wasn't dead first, it was just newly born. They did this last summer too. I have never seen them eat carrion, and we watch them all the time. Really majestic and awesome birds. I just don't want them to eat my chickens.

They do actively fish, and love ducks. They don’t usually take on Canadian geese, but if one is injured, tasty! They behave differently in different areas, and depending on the food sources and availability. Ours usually just peck the tasty bits from the lambs, but they will pick up baby goats up and drop them off of the ridge. Would never consider going near a live calf with its mama, and our mamas won’t “park” their babies until they are able to flee well on their own.

Obvioualy I did not know that. Education accepted. That is not what my father taught me.

It does vary, but I’ve never seen an eagle that was not happy about roadkill, hunters, or dinner day. They follow the vehicles, especially the tractors, looking for treats. We also deter them with methods that are not legal in your area around lambing time, so they are quite camera shy.

I’m probably going to need a reminder, but late summer/early fall, I’ll have to hang out down by the pit some and see if they get used to me enough to get some video/pictures of them for you all.

 

[Kris5902]

An aside: this is what I get for being late to the party, eh? Missing out on all the fun eagle chat. They like to hang out with these guys, who are almost the same size as them. I was just looking for good eagle pic’s, but like I said... camera shy! These guys are a little less so. I can’t remember if I’ve shared these before but. Turkey Vultures...

I really like the last one... sunning myself on this here fence.

 

[BY Bob]

An aside: this is what I get for being late to the party, eh? Missing out on all the fun eagle chat. They like to hang out with these guys, who are almost the same size as them. I was just looking for good eagle pic’s, but like I said... camera shy! These guys are a little less so. I can’t remember if I’ve shared these before but. Turkey Vultures...View attachment 2024728View attachment 2024729View attachment 2024730View attachment 2024731View attachment 2024732View attachment 2024733View attachment 2024734
I really like the last one... sunning myself on this here fence.

We have lots of those here.

 

[BY Bob]

I also find it interesting that in most Advertising etc the picture of the bald eagle is accompanied by the call of a red tail hawk... much more majestic than the high pitched trilling sound they actually make!

That always cracks me up. I truly wonder percent of the US population believes that's actually the sound they make?

 

[ValerieJ]

I think that a lot of that belief comes from national pride, but hey, that’s coming from a person whose national animal is a large semi aquatic rodent so... I also find it interesting that in most Advertising etc the picture of the bald eagle is accompanied by the call of a red tail hawk... much more majestic than the high pitched trilling sound they actually make!


They do actively fish, and love ducks. They don’t usually take on Canadian geese, but if one is injured, tasty! They behave differently in different areas, and depending on the food sources and availability. Ours usually just peck the tasty bits from the lambs, but they will pick up baby goats up and drop them off of the ridge. Would never consider going near a live calf with its mama, and our mamas won’t “park” their babies until they are able to flee well on their own.


It does vary, but I’ve never seen an eagle that was not happy about roadkill, hunters, or dinner day. They follow the vehicles, especially the tractors, looking for treats. We also deter them with methods that are not legal in your area around lambing time, so they are quite camera shy.

I’m probably going to need a reminder, but late summer/early fall, I’ll have to hang out down by the pit some and see if they get used to me enough to get some video/pictures of them for you all.

You do indeed have a different experience of and opinion of the bald eagle than I do. I live with the pair that owns this bend of the river, and I can tell you their song thrills me. I'm in tune with their life style all year long. All January they are together, happiest time of year for them. They do their sky dance and sing all month long. Then, come the end of the month or early February, I wont see them together again until about May. They have a nest every year and rear a couple babies every year. I have actually watched them making the transition, as they both sit on the nest. I can't see the nest from here but they spend a great deal of time in my tree that leans out over the river and in the slough across the river.

Right now the solo call of the eagle is on the air and I know that the other one is on the nest. I watched one just this morning overlooking the slough for fish. Unfortunately with the river so high, fishing is nearly non-existent even for the human fishermen.

Neighbors have video of them descending on a calf at the moment of birth. We know it's not a stillborn, and yes the mom is right there. This is what any wildlife will do when they are desperate. My neighbor had one of them come and take a chicken from him while he was standing 10 feet away.

Normally, like I said, they eat salmon, trout, ducks and baby geese, and yes, they are Canadian Geese. But the river is high, and we just got through duck hunting season, so the ducks are hiding somewhere else.

They are fabulous birds. I just need to keep my chickens protected from them. And the hatcheries and dam operators need to be more responsible.

 

[WhoDatChick]

Preparing for the Newbies

in preparation for the newbies I spent an entire day improving security in the run and the old prefab coop.

First there was run security to improve.

There was a wire seam running the length of both long sides that I had closed when I built the run with zip ties that I had always meant to fix. I have been afraid all along that this was where the weasel got in to get at Maleficent. Hence no hen has been permitted in the big run since.

I ran a 2x4 down each side of the run and screwed the wire down.

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Because of the presence of the tree and its toot system, I can't really dig out around the run and put down wire. So as another temp measure I put pavers down to create a flange around the complex.

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Then as I reassembled the coop inside the run I installed a plywood floor and changed out all the latches on all the doors. Making the old coop as secure as the big coop.

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Of course as soon as I opened the big run, my ladies ran back in. Lilly took a huge dust bath.

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Here is the old coop assembled in the big run waiting for its new occupants.
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This looks great

 

[BY Bob]

Final Gap Closed

I took lunch and completed the final bit of construction needed to secure all of the run at Fluffy Butt Acres. I needed to frame out the lower door to match the upper coop door.

You can see how the plywood had warped and created gaps.

I then framed it out and moved the latches to either end. I raised the hinges and I now have room under it for the pavers as well.

I should be able to rest better knowing that it is very hard to break into my run complex now and nearly impossible to break into the coops.