Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Good point. There are some apex pedators. Some have actually developed to survive simply through vast replication like rodents.

My point is this. Chickens are not like dogs and cats, despite my attempts to keep them as pets, in that there are many things that will eat them given the chance. I could leave my dog outside in the fenced yard or let my cat roam the neighborhood unsupervised and be reasonably sure I will see them in the morning. Not so with my flock, as recent events have proven.

 

[Shadrach]

Good point. There are some apex pedators. Some have actually developed to survive simply through vast replication like rodents.

My point is this. Chickens are not like dogs and cats, despite my attempts to keep them as pets, in that there are many things that will eat them given the chance. I could leave my dog outside in the fenced yard or let my cat roam the neighborhood unsupervised and be reasonably sure I will see them in the morning. Not so with my flock, as recent events have proven.

I think that's one of the reasons chickens lay the quantity of eggs they do. not many are going to survive.
For me, caring for the chickens has been a bit of a life lesson. There are lots of predators here, yet the tribes survive and some will and have lived to a good age, at least compared to many of the chickens bought on impulse and viewed as pets I read about here on BYC where four years old seems to be a good age. Assuming Fat Bird makes it through the next couple of weeks, and assuming I do to, we will be celebrating her tenth birthday together.

 

[BY Bob]

I think that's one of the reasons chickens lay the quantity of eggs they do. not many are going to survive.
For me, caring for the chickens has been a bit of a life lesson. There are lots of predators here, yet the tribes survive and some will and have lived to a good age, at least compared to many of the chickens bought on impulse and viewed as pets I read about here on BYC where four years old seems to be a good age. Assuming Fat Bird makes it through the next couple of weeks, and assuming I do to, we will be celebrating her tenth birthday together.

That is outstanding. I hope that we have Lilly for that long but I know that it is a longshot. I do figure now that she has made it to an age where egg laying is a rarity, it is up to me to keep predators away from her to see how far her body can take her.

By the way, Lilly is at least 6. I dont know her age for certain.

 

[BY Bob]

Lilly is Trying to Crow

If you remember this video, I have identified the black bird in question and it's Lilly. I caught her on the porch the other day, puffing up her chest and making this strangled noise and again on the deck this past Saturday. Unfortunately, as soon as I try to get video she stops.

I have to laugh because her buddy Patsy grew spurs when she became alpha hen. My little girls are really trying to fill that rooster role.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thank you. You are very kind.

I've made mistakes and hens have paid for it. Each generation is safer than the one before. I try to learn and improve everytime. I'm human and fallible. I pray every day that no more hens pay the price for my mistakes.

That's in my daily prayers too!

Good point. There are some apex pedators. Some have actually developed to survive simply through vast replication like rodents.

My point is this. Chickens are not like dogs and cats, despite my attempts to keep them as pets, in that there are many things that will eat them given the chance. I could leave my dog outside in the fenced yard or let my cat roam the neighborhood unsupervised and be reasonably sure I will see them in the morning. Not so with my flock, as recent events have proven.

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.

I think that's one of the reasons chickens lay the quantity of eggs they do. not many are going to survive.
For me, caring for the chickens has been a bit of a life lesson. There are lots of predators here, yet the tribes survive and some will and have lived to a good age, at least compared to many of the chickens bought on impulse and viewed as pets I read about here on BYC where four years old seems to be a good age. Assuming Fat Bird makes it through the next couple of weeks, and assuming I do to, we will be celebrating her tenth birthday together.

A lot of us buy our chicks from local farm stores and hatcheries, because that is the source we have. I don't think they live as long as chicks born in a more natural setting from stronger stock. My oldest is only 4, but then, I've only had chickens for 4 years. Her flock mates have all been taken by predators, specifically, eagles, so I don't know how long they would have lived.

 

[Shadrach]

The last year was a bit grim.
Blue Spot I put out of her misery at 11 years old, maybe a year older than that. Old age basically.
Ruffles, 8 years old, killed by a a dog which should never have been here let alone without a lead. Human gross ignorance basically. Not even a proper predator.
Gedit 8, got frightened into the duck pond and died of shock and hypothermia. More human stupidity.

 

[ValerieJ]

The last year was a bit grim.
Blue Spot I put out of her misery at 11 years old, maybe a year older than that. Old age basically.
Ruffles, 8 years old, killed by a a dog which should never have been here let alone without a lead. Human gross ignorance basically. Not even a proper predator.
Gedit 8, got frightened into the duck pond and died of shock and hypothermia. More human stupidity.

My last year was a bit grim too because of the eagles. I have bird net over my run now, the heavier knotted type, not plastic. Still, I noticed yesterday 2 small holes in it, as if an eagle was coming in and caught it in her talons, then ripped it flying away. It kept my chickens safe.

I can't wait to have a predator proof run. Soon! The eagles aren't a constant problem, only when their food sources are scarce. This last year was the first time that happened in the last 5 years that we've been here. Right now the river is so full and fast I don't think they can fish in it, and the ducks and geese aren't back yet, just one here or there.

 

[Shadrach]

Thankfully we don't have hatcheries in the area I live in. There are some in Spain but they supply the large egg producers. I can't see the hatcheries being any different from the intensive egg and meat industry to be frank. Add to this some exist primarily to supply the backyard chicken keeping craze with otherwise unobtainable breeds.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thankfully we don't have hatcheries in the area I live in. There are some in Spain but they supply the large egg producers. I can't see the hatcheries being any different from the intensive egg and meat industry to be frank. Add to this some exist primarily to supply the backyard chicken keeping craze with otherwise unobtainable breeds.

So you could say we are rescuing chicks when we get them from a hatchery. I haven't ordered direct from one, but I know all our local farm stores buy the ones they sell from hatcheries. It has been my only source because I'm new to this area. However, I'm joining a new chicken guild that is starting up at the end of the month and I think we will all have better local sources of chicks and eggs in the future.

 

[Shadrach]

My last year was a bit grim too because of the eagles. I have bird net over my run now, the heavier knotted type, not plastic. Still, I noticed yesterday 2 small holes in it, as if an eagle was coming in and caught it in her talons, then ripped it flying away. It kept my chickens safe.

I can't wait to have a predator proof run. Soon! The eagles aren't a constant problem, only when their food sources are scarce. This last year was the first time that happened in the last 5 years that we've been here. Right now the river is so full and fast I don't think they can fish in it, and the ducks and geese aren't back yet, just one here or there.

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.