Well, I think it was last monday or so my mom came home with an unwanted Roo, and she gave him to me as she already has a roo. I happily accepted him and named him Wilber. I had to ofcourse keep him away from my moms pet roo and hen (fighting) so he was in the other part of our (what used to be) goat proof fence, and at first i had him loose in there until it was obvious that would just give him every opportunity to hop over to the other chickens who were separated from him by mesh fencing...so after rescuing him from getting flogged and pecked to smittherines (even though he is a roo he was only 4 months old) I put him on a verrrry long (about 30ft) leg tie out so he could still walk over to teh other chickens but not get in with them he had full range of the whole large fenced in area all to himself.
Well just this last saturday morning I wake up and ask hubby to come out with me to help me lug fresh bedding up to my quail and help me feed them....he had biscuts that I had made that he was going ot feed to my roo Wilber, and my moms pair of chickens. We didnt see wilber right away but it was really cold out so we just thought he was laying down in the grass keeping warm (he has a shelter though). When we got up to my quail, I saw that his leg line was in this odd zig zag pattern...it looked like he walked over the one boulder, got tangled up and then ziged back around a large poplar tree and was now hiding behind it. I said to hubby "he never gets tangled up can you go get him out while i put the food in for the quail?" he said sure and next thing I know im hearing "uh...hun...he's dead".
I go "what? are you serious!?" "yes, he's dead theres barely anyting left of him". At this point im steaming with anger wanting to know what owl or whatever got in the fence and hurt my lil guy. I run up to where he is with wilber on the ground to see only a leg and the hip area left intact to my bird...witha large pile of his still blood feathers (he was so young sigh...) outside of the fence like somethign was eating and pulling him through the fence. First i thought skunk...but then lookinga fter how much of him was eaten....I didnt know what to think. I looked around and by feathers was able to tell what happened. Wilber was sleeping in his shelter, was taken out of his shelter (clumps of feathesr stuck in the dewy grass still), and at the first part where the leg line tangled up another pile of feathers, then a substantial amount (for a chicken) blood right near where his body layed. So all I can assume since we didnt hear him screaming...was that the predator grabbed him and broke his neck then actually ripped into him very close to where his body now layed.
I walked to the other side of the fence where the animal had feasted on my poor guy (he was a dark brown leghorn) and went into "forensic files" mode. They say in any crime theres evidence left behind. SO i kneeled down at the feathers and found 2 coarse silver, to grey to black hairs...knew right away what killed my baby...a raccoon.
So to avenge Wilbers death...what was left of Wilber was put in a live trap right beside where the feather pile layed on the other sideof the fence along with a twinkie (raccoons have a wonderful sweet tooth). Let the day go on like normal, evne set 2 mouse traps under my quails hutch to hopefully deter a raccoon.
At 10pm i shined a light outside and there in the livetrap was the biggest raccoon i had ever seen! He was dispatched...and weighed 22lbs. I hated having to "do it" because i adore raccoon, i even rescue ones that have been hit on the road that are still alive, and let them rest for a night in a crate and release them the next day no worse for ware...so to have to end ones life just upset me...however i didnt feel good at the idea of letting him go somewhere else, now that he had become a chicken raider...I have too much love for my birds tiedup to loose anymore.
This doesnt end there.... before hubby and i went out to the raccoon my mom came out of her room and goes 'you're not goign outside are you!?!?" and im like 'yea...why?" she goes "theres a bear outside didnt you hear me yelling!?" I go "no i was actually sleeping and just got up now to check the trap and we caught the raccoon." Here, a black bear was raiding our trashcan out front.
I smile because i'd so much rather him be raiding my trash than my birds...and the halarious thing was my moms dogs were viciously barking at the bear.....however it didn't phase him but my mom said as soon as she yelled 'GET OUT OF HERE" she said the bear acted like she shot him in the butt and he ran like he was going to get shot...kind of cute...and GOOD that he has fear even of the human voice. The PA Game Commission releases problem bears here...and almost all have no fear of humans so it gets scary...so it was nice to hear that one fears us...and my mom said it was the biggest bear she's ever seen and we've seen some MASSIVE ones. Theres nice claw rakes down the plastic trash barrol.
ALso....the one mouse trap inadvertantly killed a shrew..that had been holing up my quail hutch path. Didnt intend to hurt him but oh well.
Niki
Well just this last saturday morning I wake up and ask hubby to come out with me to help me lug fresh bedding up to my quail and help me feed them....he had biscuts that I had made that he was going ot feed to my roo Wilber, and my moms pair of chickens. We didnt see wilber right away but it was really cold out so we just thought he was laying down in the grass keeping warm (he has a shelter though). When we got up to my quail, I saw that his leg line was in this odd zig zag pattern...it looked like he walked over the one boulder, got tangled up and then ziged back around a large poplar tree and was now hiding behind it. I said to hubby "he never gets tangled up can you go get him out while i put the food in for the quail?" he said sure and next thing I know im hearing "uh...hun...he's dead".
I go "what? are you serious!?" "yes, he's dead theres barely anyting left of him". At this point im steaming with anger wanting to know what owl or whatever got in the fence and hurt my lil guy. I run up to where he is with wilber on the ground to see only a leg and the hip area left intact to my bird...witha large pile of his still blood feathers (he was so young sigh...) outside of the fence like somethign was eating and pulling him through the fence. First i thought skunk...but then lookinga fter how much of him was eaten....I didnt know what to think. I looked around and by feathers was able to tell what happened. Wilber was sleeping in his shelter, was taken out of his shelter (clumps of feathesr stuck in the dewy grass still), and at the first part where the leg line tangled up another pile of feathers, then a substantial amount (for a chicken) blood right near where his body layed. So all I can assume since we didnt hear him screaming...was that the predator grabbed him and broke his neck then actually ripped into him very close to where his body now layed.
I walked to the other side of the fence where the animal had feasted on my poor guy (he was a dark brown leghorn) and went into "forensic files" mode. They say in any crime theres evidence left behind. SO i kneeled down at the feathers and found 2 coarse silver, to grey to black hairs...knew right away what killed my baby...a raccoon.
So to avenge Wilbers death...what was left of Wilber was put in a live trap right beside where the feather pile layed on the other sideof the fence along with a twinkie (raccoons have a wonderful sweet tooth). Let the day go on like normal, evne set 2 mouse traps under my quails hutch to hopefully deter a raccoon.
At 10pm i shined a light outside and there in the livetrap was the biggest raccoon i had ever seen! He was dispatched...and weighed 22lbs. I hated having to "do it" because i adore raccoon, i even rescue ones that have been hit on the road that are still alive, and let them rest for a night in a crate and release them the next day no worse for ware...so to have to end ones life just upset me...however i didnt feel good at the idea of letting him go somewhere else, now that he had become a chicken raider...I have too much love for my birds tiedup to loose anymore.
This doesnt end there.... before hubby and i went out to the raccoon my mom came out of her room and goes 'you're not goign outside are you!?!?" and im like 'yea...why?" she goes "theres a bear outside didnt you hear me yelling!?" I go "no i was actually sleeping and just got up now to check the trap and we caught the raccoon." Here, a black bear was raiding our trashcan out front.
ALso....the one mouse trap inadvertantly killed a shrew..that had been holing up my quail hutch path. Didnt intend to hurt him but oh well.
Niki
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