Living in an ice world. This all fell as sleet yesterday topped by freezing fog this morning.the few cars that have gone by today make the scariest cracking sounds!
Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock
- Thread starter BY Bob
- Start date
- May 12, 2020
- 17,351
- 178,696
- 1,416
Meanwhile that little bird is surviving. Bless it.
SimpleJenn
Stitchin' chickens
He is 9! He finally is putting weight back on, he was underweight for a while.He sure looks gooddo you know how old he is?
Also, I really enjoy my Starlink! It has issues sometimes but it's the best option for my area.
I would welcome feedback on my current thinking about anti-hawk netting. I will put it all in a spoiler because it will be a bit of a long post.
Hawk netting tax: Everyone has gone inside because it is snowing and very windy. Here is Pooh enjoying the snacks provided indoors.
First off, I am not trying to cover the whole of the chicken yard (defined by the electric fence). That is too big a project. But there is one area which is very popular with the Princesses - it is where they hang out to gossip and preen.
They like to sit on top of what I call the 'Open Runs'. They are not really open - but they have a hardware cloth roof rather than a solid roof. When I let the Princesses out they like to sit on top of the hardware cloth roof to chat.
In the summer this area is pretty well protected against both types of hawk because there is a tree (evergreen) and very thick lower level bushes and shrubs. Both sets of leaves hide the chickens well from hawks circling overhead, and from hawks sitting in the tree. I think the heavy foliage cover is probably why they like that area so much.
In winter the lower level protection is much thinner because the leaves fall. I think they are still quite protected from the hawk in the air, but a hawk in the tree has a clear line of site to where they hang out. It was a hawk in the tree that plummeted to earth to try and get Pooh.
I have tried to show the rough set-up in the sketch below. Pooh (in green) is sitting in their favorite preening spot.
My idea is to use the kind of brackets that hold flag poles onto the side of houses. I have one - they are cast aluminum and are designed (obviously!) to hold a long pole in place. Some are adjustable, and some are fixed with the pole either horizontal or at 45 degrees.
Instead of a flag, I would attach netting which would drape between two flagpoles to cover the area where they hang out - and drop down over the end of the flag poles but not all the way down to the ground so the Princesses can still jump up to their favorite spot.
In the picture below the purple/blue is to show the flag poles and the netting.
One benefit of the flag pole solution is that it will be easy for me to remove the flag poles to take down the netting in heavy snow or if leaves build up.
Let me know what you all think. All ideas welcome!
They like to sit on top of what I call the 'Open Runs'. They are not really open - but they have a hardware cloth roof rather than a solid roof. When I let the Princesses out they like to sit on top of the hardware cloth roof to chat.
In the summer this area is pretty well protected against both types of hawk because there is a tree (evergreen) and very thick lower level bushes and shrubs. Both sets of leaves hide the chickens well from hawks circling overhead, and from hawks sitting in the tree. I think the heavy foliage cover is probably why they like that area so much.
In winter the lower level protection is much thinner because the leaves fall. I think they are still quite protected from the hawk in the air, but a hawk in the tree has a clear line of site to where they hang out. It was a hawk in the tree that plummeted to earth to try and get Pooh.
I have tried to show the rough set-up in the sketch below. Pooh (in green) is sitting in their favorite preening spot.
My idea is to use the kind of brackets that hold flag poles onto the side of houses. I have one - they are cast aluminum and are designed (obviously!) to hold a long pole in place. Some are adjustable, and some are fixed with the pole either horizontal or at 45 degrees.
Instead of a flag, I would attach netting which would drape between two flagpoles to cover the area where they hang out - and drop down over the end of the flag poles but not all the way down to the ground so the Princesses can still jump up to their favorite spot.
In the picture below the purple/blue is to show the flag poles and the netting.
One benefit of the flag pole solution is that it will be easy for me to remove the flag poles to take down the netting in heavy snow or if leaves build up.
Let me know what you all think. All ideas welcome!
Hawk netting tax: Everyone has gone inside because it is snowing and very windy. Here is Pooh enjoying the snacks provided indoors.
That looks like a great idea. Couple of questions: will the flag poles be long enough to fully extend a bit beyond the 'open' runs? Without knowing the brush location/height - can the end of the netting be draped on/over the closest bushes to make it a 'seamless roof' (bushes then netting)?
How will you a-fix the netting to the poles? Zip-ties? If I remember correctly, those runs are fairly long - if so, you might want to either add a third (middle) pole, or an eye bolt in the center between them and fasten the netting to the eyebolt - to help keep it from both sagging too much in the middle (especially close to the coop) AND to help keep it from working itself away from the coop. (with so much hanging off the ends of the poles, and with wind, it may work it (netting) off towards the pole end/away from the coop - leaving a gap or forcing you to periodically 'fix' it. While you are intending to make it removable - I am sure you don
t want to be climbing repeatedly just to fix that. If the amount of hanging netting is even close to accurate, a good windstorm will work it around - even with tightly done zip-ties.
WONDERFUL IDEA!! You might even want to make that a dual purpose thing and use a windsail or mesh shade cloth like that in the summer if it is on the sunny side - will drop the temperature another 5 degrees or so beyond what the shrubs do!
P.S. Can you putpipes in (like the long, square outline of the old clothes lines - put just one side - i.e. two end pipes and one that runs the length between them) that are permanent - that the end of the shade cloth can drape over? You can make them any height you want - 2' off the ground to 6' off the ground - depending on what works....and have more hang over the edge of the pipes to the height of the bushes?
BeastBaby
Crater Raker
My neighbor feeds the crows by launching food (peanuts or leftovers) up onto his roof. Since the crows know he does this he is on their radar: they swarm and it’s gone in minutes.
He also has a feeder full of peanuts, but the dratted invasive squirrels and rats use it.
I love the colours you painted your cools with
Also really glad no damage to them, it was wild here also, but still hardly any snow - very icy though
Now the deep freeze hits here.
Oh they were watching everyone learning where they put things, they can unzip things also
I am sure he watched you put it there, then when you weren’t looking - bam! He flew in, grabbed it and took off!
Wow that’s a good age you’re doing well by him
I was hoping to get my StarLink up this weekend but the weather hasn’t cooperated.
Dreams of nicer weather
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
-
-
Ended Official BYC Poultry Caption Contest 05-16-25 Pic by Blue Raptor- Started by TwoCrows
- Replies: 60
-
-
