Ice Cream Chicks - Raising Pistachio and the Welsummers

[Callender Girl]

Oh. no! Keeping the last four cooped up sounds like the only way to keep them safe, for now.

Hoping there are better days ahead for you, and soon.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I'm so sorry

 

[Demonwolf37]

Well I have more bad news. I feel like I'm being a downer, but I really don't have much else to share.

Last night they got in again and killed everyone but Slurpee. I had all four of them locked in the coop, with a cinder block against the door, but the raccoon managed to find a spot where it wasn't secure and push the door in anyway.

I feel awful and guilty and I'm honestly having a hard time holding it together. Every modification we've made, I've felt confident with, and yet every time we get outplayed. I feel so terrible and responsible, and it's MY job to keep these animals safe, but I keep failing.

Last night we caught the raccoon on the camera, snooping around, so we went out there and waved our arms around and yelling, hoping that it would deter them from even trying. It evidently did not. We checked to make sure that the cinder block was secure enough to stop a raccoon from being able to push the door open, but I misjudged and it found a way in.

At this point it's 100% on me. It feels like negligence, but it's the worst kind of negligence because I genuinely thought I was doing good.

A lot of this is venting, because I don't really know what else to say.

We're barricading the door with U brackets and 2x4s until we get one of those fancy automatic doors, and even then we'll probably put barricades up.

Pictures to come later so someone can hopefully fact check my defenses.

Like I've lost a number of chickens before, but I was a teenager and knew my defenses were shoddy. I thought I did better this time, but I guess I underestimated how determined raccoons would be.

 

[Callender Girl]

How terrible -- for you and Slurpee, who must be terrified! I know my lone hen was a mess after a predator took all of her coop mates.

Snoopy was a pet raccoon that lived with my aunt and uncle. That's how I learned how clever and determined raccoons can be. And, those nimble little fingers can open things that you would think were impossible. She got into everything in the house, including the latched kitchen cupboards, where she stripped off all the can labels.

When it comes to fasteners, you can't overdo. Most of my coops have two latches -- a vertical and a horizontal -- separated so the coon would have to move from top to side or vice versa. Ideally, the vertical slide would drop when the raccoon moves to the other latch.

I also run carabiners through behind the bolts so they can't slide the bolt over on the coops that only have one latch. All the hooks have the little sliding pieces so they can't simply be picked up and opened.

Don't beat yourself up too much. I lost my three chickens one night -- didn't close one coop -- and one of my original drake runner ducks the next day. My ducks are no longer allowed to wander to the back of my property. And, I double check every latch, every time.

I hope better days are ahead for you.

 

[Demonwolf37]

Kind of an awkward picture of the unlatched door. I completely forgot to take a picture of it closed like a silly person.

There's two L brackets (or U brackets?) on either side of the door. On each pair of L brackets sits a 2x4 blocking the door from being pushed in - top and bottom. The L brackets stop the door from sliding side to, and there's a piece of wood screwed into the wall above it to stop them from lifting the door and squeezing under.

Previously the door just had a cinder block and a paver leaning on it to keep it from being opened, but since the weight of the cinder block and paver was only applied to the top, they could push the underside in and force their way through the gap.

I think it should be secure now. The only other weak point I can think of is the nesting boxes, which have two (horizontal) latches on either side, but they fit into a tight hole and are a pain to remove. I don't THINK they can open that, but I've got a fence post leaning against the top one applying pressure just in case.

 

[mydaisy]

Wow, I stumbled on this thread and it was so fun and uplifting and then went downhill, and then kept going downhill..... so sad. Sorry for your losses. Poor girls.

 

[Callender Girl]

My very best wishes that all is secure now.

 

[Demonwolf37]

This will be my last post on this thread before moving to a new thread when I get my new chicks next week ().

I wanted to share some of the more lighthearted stories I forgot to share before it all went downhill and I learned some harder lessons.

So to start off with, Slurpee is still around. The extra barricades on the door seem to keep that raccoon b****** out. And I don't think they can reach the latches on the egg doors (although more fortification is coming there soon anyway because at this point any risk is being evaluated as a direct threat).

None of the Welsummers particularly became very people friendly, despite me hand raising them for six(?) weeks in the house, but Slurpee has become a bit more docile with people sans other friends. Maybe while the new chicks are being raised she'll warm up a little more.

So while I was raising them in the house, Soft Serve (AKA "Teal," AKA "Blue-Green") was my little water tower watcher. She'd always sit up on the water to get a better view of things and was frequently the cause of the water being tipped over once she was really too big for that. (This is also the reason that the entire carpet in that room needed to be replaced after the brooder was removed. Tarp next time. Tarp.)

Blizzard of course was incredibly bold (compared to the other Welsummers at least) and would be the first to take treats. She was also prone to nibbling fingers and being a little brat. While Custard was the first to escape the brooder while it was unzipped for weighing them, it was Blizzard who figured out how to unzip the brooder herself and escape on her own. Multiple times I woke up in the morning to a chicken or two outside the brooder just WANDERING around. Don't fool yourself into thinking chickens can't learn to open zippers, then absolutely can. And I'm like 70% sure it was Blizzard who first figured it out. The rest quickly followed and from then on I had to ziptie the two zippers together so that the darn chickens couldn't open the brooder and escape.

Moving the 6(?) week old chickens from the upstairs bedroom, downstairs, across the yard, to the coop, was a TRICK. previously whenever they had to move rooms they were small enough to fit in a large tubberware container. Now they were big and I could only fit one in there and they were very eager to escape. So I had to teach my family and boyfriend how to safely hold the chickens. I would catch them in the brooder, hand them to one of my "volunteers" and we quickly had a little train of people carrying chickens downstairs, out the door, and across the yard. Catching Pistachio was easy, she was always easier to pet and handle than the Welsummers were, and the first two Welsummers came fairly easily. But after that they began to get nervous and harder to catch. On top of that, one of them escaped and began running around the room while I was trying to keep the chicken train going. Very tricky business transporting squirrelly chickens.

The first few weeks they barely left the coop, outside was new and scary.

But by the time spring properly rolled around, they had decimated the grass in their run. They really REALLY liked eating grass. I offered them bunches of clover after the grass was gone, but they never ate it in front of me (but it was mysteriously gone when I checked on them next).

I caught one of them sticking their head outside the run through the gap to nip at grass which made me a little nervous about them getting stuck like that, but they seemed to be able to get it back in alright (even it looked pretty funny when they pulled their head back in. I actually got a picture at the PERFECT time.). I may still make it so they can't do that. It makes me nervous, especially after everything.

When the dandelions started popping up all over the place, I gave them handfuls of those as well before they inevitably turned all fuzzy. Like the clover, they didn't eat this while I was around but was always gone when I came back.

And this is around the time that the losses started happening, so I will skip ahead to now.

Slurpee, as I said, is getting more friendly with people, and my grandma is now obsessed with giving her big handfuls of mealworms whenever she goes out there (my grandma feels terrible about what happened and has taken to spoiling Slurpee), and Slurpee even lets herself be petted (a little.... sometimes....).

Today Slurpee let me hand feed her some large clover leaves while I was inspecting the coop. I couldn't pet her though (I think she likes my grandma more )

And that's the majority of it. I never really caught them eating bugs outside (although while I was brooding them I bought a box of 50 crickets and let them "practice" hunting. They had eaten the vast majority in half an hour, and all of them within an hour).

Keep an eye out Monday or Tuesday for a new thread with my next batch of chicks, who will hopefully keep Slurpee company once they're big enough and integrated properly.

 

[Callender Girl]

Mixed feelings reading this. I'm sad that you lost such amazing, personable critters. It sounds like life with them was an endless adventure. Chickens who learn to open zippers? How funny!

But, I'm glad that you are getting more chicks (because you are a great chick parent and they will be lucky to have you) and that Slurpee is warming up to Grandma and you. Some years ago, after a predation, my sole survivor from that coop also decided to make friends with me. I have a particular phrase I use that makes her come running ahead of all the now-many other chickens when it's treat time.

I was not surprised to learn that your hand-raised Welsummers weren't particularly people friendly. My Lottie was one of six chicks that all grew up in a brooder in the house, and I handled them daily. Of that group, she was always the most skittish and never willingly came in contact with me throughout her life. Still, she was a beauty who laid lovely eggs.

I am looking forward to reading about the new adventures with your new arrivals. Hope you've got that tarp ready!