Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Kris5902]

Well, I had a very large owl hanging out in the trees around my chicken run, and after a lot of scrutiny, she decided it wasn't worth it. I also always knew she was there because the chickens alerted me. No one here has had an owl attack. Only the bald eagles and golden eagles. Our hawks are too small.

The owl that decimated my flocks earlier (7 birds!!!) was a barred owl, a smallish but aggressive and territorial owl, which is an invasive species here and known for driving out other native owl species. It was only a few pounds actually, and had a tiny body under the many fluffy feathers. Nothing that goes on a wanton killing spree like that is allowed to stay here though. I wouldn’t underestimate the hawk, even if they are small. I’ve had a few Hawk stoops, all smaller sharp shinned or Cooper’s hawks (I think... ID’s are hard when they dive that fast) but thankfully my Roosters have been alert, and they aren’t those scary crazy goshawks! As in they didn’t dive under or through the cover my flock was using.

 

[Kris5902]

They catch rabbits here on the plains, not in the forest of course where I am.

Our eagles (when they do decide to “hunt”) usually take baby goats and then drop them off the cliffs here. The noise is quite unnerving. Thankfully,we have no rabbits here. Suggestion of raising rabbits for meat are almost enough to get you run off the island with torches and pitchforks. It’s amazing what some environmentalists, are capable of... in nearby Victoria there is quite the problem with rabbits, doing what they do naturally population wise, and it’s not legal to harvest them from public areas. Because they may be released pets... (we could feed the homeless, reduce the invasive species, and create jobs all at once, but for the delicate sensibilities and cuteness factor

 

[Kris5902]

Those killer herbivores are too be avoided at all costs. It's on beakbook how dangerous they are. Phyllis told me. If it's on beakbook it must be true!

I didn’t think that word had gotten around so fast! Between the chicken murdering bovines and the deer that attack cars here (and bicyclists of nearby Pender island) I’m surprised there isn’t a beak book PSA warning of them.

note: how the deer on the (ACTUAL) road sign is destroying the car and yet is completely unscathed? We have super deer here!

 

[Ribh]

Our eagles (when they do decide to “hunt”) usually take baby goats and then drop them off the cliffs here. The noise is quite unnerving. Thankfully,we have no rabbits here. Suggestion of raising rabbits for meat are almost enough to get you run off the island with torches and pitchforks. It’s amazing what some environmentalists, are capable of... in nearby Victoria there is quite the problem with rabbits, doing what they do naturally population wise, and it’s not legal to harvest them from public areas. Because they may be released pets... (we could feed the homeless, reduce the invasive species, and create jobs all at once, but for the delicate sensibilities and cuteness factor

No cuteness factor where I live. You can't even keep them as pets. they are declared vermin.

 

[Kris5902]

I should really be getting to some late night chores to prepare for tomorrow Morning... but having looked up several dozen “how to replace an RV toilet” videos, I have decided that I’m probably just going to keep trying to catch up here for a bit. Just Close the lid... check the RV places on the way home, maybe order one off amazon? Considering the pros and cons of building an outhouse vs asking the aunt in law (via my mother or DH) about shipping it to their house if I do order one... yes that’s how my night is going... and just 6 hrs to go until we pack up most of the meat birds for their one way road trip...

 

[Kris5902]

Hi

No cuteness factor where I live. You can't even keep them as pets. they are declared vermin.

yep, but they found that out the hard way... the university grounds are teeming with all that free meat! It hasn’t been quite so bad since a really nasty virus came through here and killed of a large portion of the population... but they are rebounding.

 

[Ribh]

ut they are rebounding.

as they do.

 

[Cynthia12]

If you are trying to make Phyllis upset you can't. She knows she has it all.

View attachment 2379707

Pretty cute. This was mine..strutting her stuff. She knew she had it all too.

 

[RoyalChick]

any way you can electrify what they are standing on? They are smart little devils and you could train them to “no touching the chicken home” pretty quickly if you wait for them to get up then zap the little monsters.

Oh yes indeed! What they are standing on is the top of one of the pasture runs to the side of one of the covered runs. When the fence is on, the top is connected to the ground rod so they would have got shocked. But when the fence is on they don’t seem to visit.

 

[LozzyR]

I have a bit of catching up to do on the three threads, but hubby saw this on Twitter and I really, REALLY had to share!