Definitely helps some, gives me some ideas, thanks!
The lengths us Mums go to to get just a few minutes peace from our offspring!!
Duct tape around the bottom. I did that with some fence I used. It will buy you a week. After a week I don't think 8 square feet will be enough.
I never thought of that!
Clever girl!!!One of the things I spend quite a bit of time doing is trying to locate the outside nest Tribe 2 and 3 are prone to making. Years a go I used to try to search for them; it's a fruitless task.
I have a good idea of who is laying and which eggs are whose. When I don't see eggs or hens in the coops then I try to pay attention to where they are during the day and listen out for escort calls. The escort calls often give me a general area and that's often good enough to locate the nest. This process can take some days. I usually reckon I've got about ten days of a hen laying outside before she'll sit.
Recently I've known that Tack, Nolia and Bracket have got a nest somewhere but I haven't had a clue where. I have heard some escort calls but they've stopped quickly and when I've gone to look all are present or accounted for.
This method of nest location does require the hens to be at some distance from the coops. I don't usually bother with the escort calls that come from the coop area, assuming the hen has laid in one of the coops.
After the nominal ten days if a hen goes missing and sits then life gets more difficult and I have to be around when she gets off the eggs to eat etc. For a start I have to hear or see her at this time and then I have to wait while she baths and eats and chats to her tribe. This can take an hour or more. I know from past experience the moment I take my eyes off her she'll be gone. Every night a hen spends out is high risk, and every day I can't manage to follow them back to their nest is stressful. As the days and nights go by I worry more and more.
Mostly, I get them withing two to three days if it's got that far.
This most recent nest was getting to that critical stage. I knew that any night now I would go to put the tribes to bed and a hen would be missing. It's not a good feeling.
I was giving Tribe 2 their supper tonight. Tack, Lock and Rivit tend to like to forage a bit while the seniors get settled in the coop so seeing them wander a bit isn't unusual and I normally herd them in close to the coop where I can keep an eye on them.
Tonight Tack started to wander away from the coop and something made me not discourage her. She didn't go far. A bout 6 meters from the coop and disappeared into a clump of weeds. The thing was she didn't come out the other side!
The pictures below are what I found when I looked.
No wonder the escort calls stopped quickly and no wonder I hadn't had any success trying to track them much further afield. I stand by this spot, within 3 metres anyway, every night and every morning.
I took Tack off the eggs and put her on a roost bar in the coop. I haven't counted the eggs yet or worked out whose laid there as well as she.
View attachment 2225480
Standing a couple of metres back. The nest is directly behind that pole!
View attachment 2225481
That was lucky. No way you would have found that nest. Amazing.One of the things I spend quite a bit of time doing is trying to locate the outside nest Tribe 2 and 3 are prone to making. Years a go I used to try to search for them; it's a fruitless task.
I have a good idea of who is laying and which eggs are whose. When I don't see eggs or hens in the coops then I try to pay attention to where they are during the day and listen out for escort calls. The escort calls often give me a general area and that's often good enough to locate the nest. This process can take some days. I usually reckon I've got about ten days of a hen laying outside before she'll sit.
Recently I've known that Tack, Nolia and Bracket have got a nest somewhere but I haven't had a clue where. I have heard some escort calls but they've stopped quickly and when I've gone to look all are present or accounted for.
This method of nest location does require the hens to be at some distance from the coops. I don't usually bother with the escort calls that come from the coop area, assuming the hen has laid in one of the coops.
After the nominal ten days if a hen goes missing and sits then life gets more difficult and I have to be around when she gets off the eggs to eat etc. For a start I have to hear or see her at this time and then I have to wait while she baths and eats and chats to her tribe. This can take an hour or more. I know from past experience the moment I take my eyes off her she'll be gone. Every night a hen spends out is high risk, and every day I can't manage to follow them back to their nest is stressful. As the days and nights go by I worry more and more.
Mostly, I get them withing two to three days if it's got that far.
This most recent nest was getting to that critical stage. I knew that any night now I would go to put the tribes to bed and a hen would be missing. It's not a good feeling.
I was giving Tribe 2 their supper tonight. Tack, Lock and Rivit tend to like to forage a bit while the seniors get settled in the coop so seeing them wander a bit isn't unusual and I normally herd them in close to the coop where I can keep an eye on them.
Tonight Tack started to wander away from the coop and something made me not discourage her. She didn't go far. A bout 6 meters from the coop and disappeared into a clump of weeds. The thing was she didn't come out the other side!
The pictures below are what I found when I looked.
No wonder the escort calls stopped quickly and no wonder I hadn't had any success trying to track them much further afield. I stand by this spot, within 3 metres anyway, every night and every morning.
I took Tack off the eggs and put her on a roost bar in the coop. I haven't counted the eggs yet or worked out whose laid there as well as she.
View attachment 2225480
Standing a couple of metres back. The nest is directly behind that pole!
View attachment 2225481
