They do fly a bit. More like run, flap wings, lift off ground with legs still running, make it about 10-15 feet and then back to ground where they may land and they may roll. The chatter constantly and the ladies, when they get going with each other, sound like they are laughing. We hope to get the hoop house going in the spring...my plan is to have it like a cross or a T with chickens at one point, ducks at one point and geese at another point each with access outside to the range but also each with access to an interior "play room" where they can be out and still be safe from flying predators. Last night I was out with the birds putting everyone back into their runs before putting them to bed for the night. No one sounded an alarm, not even Sting, and as far as anyone knew it was just another night. Then, around the corner of the house came B.T. and Sara barking at the sky, followed by Duke (the Anatolian) who was all bristled up to twice his normal size and making a growling sound that sent a chill up my spine. At first I though some sort of bird but Duke does not usually react to birds. I turned around just as a Bobcat dropped down out of a Mesquite tree in the field next door but overhanging my chicken coop. Duke's presence and growl must have done the job because he took off across the field and into the thicket fast.
But, like you say, it is that time of year. Their natural food supply is scarce as things get cooler and they begin to seek out other easy prey. We put the shotgun next to the back door just in case and made sure there was a window cracked on that side of the house so the dogs could hear and react if anything happened during the night. LuckilyDuke must have put the fear of God into the Bobcat because it did not come back. We now have to be extra vigilant because the Bobcat knows where there is food and the coyotes have sounded like they are closer in the evenings.
By the way, the Cayugas have figured out where the best and most plentiful grasshoppers are. When I take them out to the big field to forage they now make a bee line directly across the field to the gate into our orchard (apricots, peaches and pears) and wait for me to open the gate where they pig out for half an hour. Then, when they are almost choaking they go, on their own, back to their run where they have water and I can close that gate and they are safe. Smart and spoiled...go figure.
