Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Train eowyn to leave the chickens alone and hunt everything else....

I'm not saying that I don't consider this every day. She could take it.

 

[RoyalChick]

I'm not saying that I don't consider this every day. She could take it.

I don't think this is very far fetched at all.
Also, it needn't be that she patrols while the chickens are out, it could be that she deals with the hawk. I don't think they can prosecute a cat, even one her size!

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Heres one for 2 for Tuesday. 2 hens hiding in the leaves. If either one of these 2 decide next spring to go broody and hide their nest on the hillside, I'm in trouble.

 

[RebeccaBoyd]

Close ups of the 2 girls
Momma hen

And Squirrel

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Christmas Lights and a Return Visitor

I spent Sunday hanging the outdoor Christmas lights. That included decorating the coop again. It came out well. Aurora decided to pose with the Christmas decoration for which she was clearly their model chicken.

View attachment 2919926

Here is the coop lit up at dusk.

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Throughout the day as I was working on the lights I could hear the nearly continuous scree of the red tailed hawk. However they never got closer than this.

View attachment 2919927

Return Visit

I was touching up the paint on the letters of the coop today, as I need to do before every winter, and the ladies were fussing at me. It was like they wanted me to know they were there but it was not the full whiney let us out. I talked to them for a while and all of a sudden they went dead silent.

This one had returned.

No chickens this way.....
View attachment 2919924

No chickens that way.......
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I guess I'll go and try to kill that sparrow hiding in the trumpet vines.

I did not run it off. I wanted to see it hunt. After watching that video, there is no safe place in my yard other than the complex. Nowhere. The ability that hawk demonstrated dropping down through those vines is scary. Those trumpet vines are the tribes favorite hiding spot. The tribe thinks they are safe there.

They are wrong.I

'm definitely not good at telling the difference, but now I think this is a Sharp-Shinned Hawk, the thick dark streaking goes into the belly, and the sound of the call when it was in the vines seemed closer to that than a Cooper's. It's not that much bigger than a Blue Jay, between a Jay and a Crow?

These Hawks are bird feeder hunters unfortunately.

Yesterday to bring the outside in I put a few fresh shovelfuls of a garden bed into the Buckeye's dustbath pool in the run, and they've been happily exploring it. In the spring that dirt will go back on a garden bed. Good deal I think. I also pulled old brussel sprout plants and tied them upside down into the furniture in the run, everyone's been eating the leaves. I don't see them really that interested in going out, they are quite skittish these days, the Jays and Crows are warning.

Years past, the top is the favored perch for everyone....somewhere...all winter...including Castor....who gets miffed when they chase him off. Cheetah has even alerted over a young female tuxedo creeping along it.

So far, no one has tried nesting in it. (Now I need to go knock on the pile)

The close overhead protection on that woodpile is a big draw too I bet.

 

[micstrachan]

I'm back from visiting family for a long weekend! Hope I didn't miss too much while traveling...will try to catch up on later this week.
In the meantime, a through and through mug shot for Monday.View attachment 2920177

I’m catching up and realized I never actually said anything in this reply! It was a fantastic true mug shot!

 

[micstrachan]

I'm back from visiting family for a long weekend! Hope I didn't miss too much while traveling...will try to catch up on later this week.
In the meantime, a through and through mug shot for Monday.View attachment 2920177

Haha! Excellent!

 

[micstrachan]

These Hawks are bird feeder hunters unfortunately. Yes they eas

Yesterday to bring the outside in I put a few fresh shovelfuls of a garden bed into the Buckeye's dustbath pool in the run, and they've been happily exploring it. In the spring that dirt will go back on a garden bed. Good deal I think. I also pulled old brussel sprout plants and tied them upside down into the furniture in the run, everyone's been eating the leaves. I don't see them really that interested in going out, they are quite skittish these days, the Jays and Crows

The close overhead protection on that woodpile is a big draw too I bet.

Great ideas! I gave brought shovels full of dirt and worms in for them in the past. And, Bob, don’t forget you can look for rice hulls as a “toy!”

 

[micstrachan]

I really would read the conditions for getting a permit to get rid of it - they include threats to livestock and property.
I think you might qualify.
To me what makes this one a notable threat is that it is not afraid of being around people so you have no ability to 'scare it away'.

You could ask, Bob. Though it’s just living its life doing what hawks do. And another may very well come in its place.

 

[micstrachan]

The biggest problem is that there is no way to safely discharge a firearm where I live. I could not kill it if I wanted to do so. Perhaps trap it but killing it is not really practical.

The other condition of the permit is you have to demonstrate how you are going to prevent another one from setting up residence and attacking your flock again. How do I do that?

My SHRA tax