Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

The 'old hens' are lovely

Thanks - Mrs LC is hardly an old hen, but I on the other hand….

 

[Ponypoor]

That darn Whiskers wasn’t laying an egg. She was sitting in the box, hoarding 3 eggs under her, going all broody

 

[BY Bob]

As I was closing up this evening I apparently disturbed his dinner and he ran over my foot to get away from me.
This was a great opportunity - I rushed to look outside the Palace to see where he emerged. I knew the cameras would pick up his internal route.
Well good news, the place I thought might be a weak spot in my fortifications turned out to be solid - he failed to get out that way.
In sort of good news the camera got a very clear video of where he did run to.
Now the bad news. He escaped to an area that is completely inaccessible without largely demolishing the structure. It is under the servant's storage area floor. But that is still inside the Chicken Palace fortifications, and there was absolutely no sign of him emerging outside.
I am beginning to think he walked in through the open door one day and decided to stay and is actually never leaving the Chicken Palace!
The colored smoke bomb won't work to find the outside burrow because I can't reach any burrow under the floor.
Hmmm.


Rat tax: Calypso is also enjoying the woodchips.
View attachment 4140362

Then you must trap it. You have no other choice.

 

[notabitail]

Photo please.

I've got to catch her when she does it. She did it today by my door but I didn't snap a photo.

 

[BY Bob]

I've got to catch her when she does it. She did it today by my door but I didn't snap a photo.

I can wait....

 

[BY Bob]

This is fun if you haven't tried it yet.

Thread ' What Kind of Chicken Parent Are You?' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/🐣-what-kind-of-chicken-parent-are-you.1665050/

 

[RoyalChick]

Then you must trap it. You have no other choice.

Yes indeed. But my biggest concern by far is the breach of the fortifications. Much more scary than this solitary rat is the ability of his relatives to come and visit, or worse still a weasel using the same highway.
If I get rid of him I lose any chance of finding exactly how he gets in each night (if he does).
This evening’s encounter directs my attention to a slightly different area so I need to look again for burrows. I don’t really know how far they tunnel so I may increase the radius of my grid search to 20’. The colored smoke sure would have been helpful!

 

[BY Bob]

Yes indeed. But my biggest concern by far is the breach of the fortifications. Much more scary than this solitary rat is the ability of his relatives to come and visit, or worse still a weasel using the same highway.
If I get rid of him I lose any chance of finding exactly how he gets in each night (if he does).
This evening’s encounter directs my attention to a slightly different area so I need to look again for burrows. I don’t really know how far they tunnel so I may increase the radius of my grid search to 20’. The colored smoke sure would have been helpful!

You can't do the smoke because.....

 

[bgmathteach]

Thanks - Mrs LC is hardly an old hen, but I on the other hand….

She is adorable - and you aren't so bad yourself!. Especially since I am older - I can not cast age stones lest they come right back at me!!!

 

[featherhead007]

I love a fish tank. They are very cute!

Eve got a fish tank last fall when she won a goldfish at the fair.

It starts with a goldfish bowl, and then to an aquarium, then bigger and bigger until the backyard is a pond, then bigger, until you have a SeaWorld on your hands!