Illinois...

[Faraday40]

Bad IDEA,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, DD did that one year,,,,(tending to small infant child inside home) When she checked short time later,,,,, it was all gone.. ONE trick-or treater GOT it ALL

Spoiler: Someone with the munchies just to make you chuckle

View attachment 1941239

Yes, that can happen & pretty much what I would expect once the teens start coming out. In a similar situation, I was happily surprised last year when my own kids ran up to the candy bowl, it wasn't empty, and they took exactly 2 like the sign said.

..... Of course once a man made the mistake of telling my kids to take "whatever they wanted," so DS grabbed 2 HUGE, overflowing fist-fulls before I could stop him. I was so embarrassed. Thankfully the man was laughing. I apologized, but then DS said in all honesty, "But Mom, he said I could take whatever I wanted and I really wanted lots of candy." I must have been all shades of red. Of course, anyone who knows my DS also knows of his sweet tooth and unique sense humor.

 

[chickendreams24]

Hello all my friends

Night before last was a very bad night here. Sadly.

Unfortunately after months of being in the hardware cloth sided tractors that have always been safe we had what appears to have been a mink attack. The first one in as long as I can remember.

It was storming out(its usually raining when they attack from our experiences probably because they're semi-aquatic). After the storm we went out about 9 pm to lock up and do bed check chores.

Unfortunately the mink found a small crack the birds had made under the tractor even though we move them regularly. The tractor it got into was housing several juvenile chickens, my favorite rooster Buddy, and all of this year's juvenile turkeys.

There was still a turkey in the death throes when we got out there. 7 turkeys and 2 chickens all gone. Only one of this year's poults survived the attack.

Unfortunately the turkeys lost included the two calicos from this year.

The worst is that we were planning to empty the tractors out the next night as we had to postpone due to the rain.

DH has found some more slates to replace those we lost. If anyone has spare calico jennies please let me know.

 

[Faraday40]

The tractor it got into was housing several juvenile chickens, my favorite rooster Buddy, and all of this year's juvenile turkeys.

the turkeys lost included the two calicos from this year.

Not dear Buddy & "Chrissy" (the preschool poult who turned out to be a Christopher).

Remember this?

Although Buddy was golden, it was his golden personality that we all adored. He will be missed.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Night before last was a very bad night here. Sadly.

Hugs going out to you. Minks are the worst. One got all 18 of my new babies last year. I was devastated.

 

[Faraday40]

I also had a rough week with some losses. Our dear, sweet, blind Digger (silver duckwing OEG) had to be put down. When she developed cataracts in the spring I thought for sure she'd pass due to inability to eat & drink. However, she solved the problem by not abandoning her last chick. Her seeing-eye chick stayed by her side & helped her navigate the world. Digger gained her weight back and even resumed laying eggs. Her bantam group accepted her (& her giant orp daughter acted like a personal body guard if they didn't.)

Over the last week I noticed some bullying of Digger during the evening transition. Her orp baby is starting to grow up (finally) and showing interest in sleeping with the big girls at night. Digger usually slept in a corner by the nest boxes but the broody hens are currently sleeping in there, so Digger got displaced. My guess is either in the morning some one picked a fight with Digger, or perhaps she was sleeping in an area where rodents could have nibbled on her during the night. She was already disabled, so that put a target on her back, & blood can cause other birds to peck/attack. For chickens, any weakness can & will attract predators, so to protect the flock, birds must remove the weakness. Thursday morning, I found my poor, bloody Digger hiding behind the feeder. She was shaking & cold & probably in shock. She couldn't see well enough to avoid attacks. I thought about how difficult the upcoming winter would be on her, and how we already had to carry her around and make sure to not change the arrangement of things. I decided that the wounds were pretty bad and I didn't want to drag things out. I held her for a while and cried before getting up the courage to put her down. Although the logical choice, these decisions are hardest part of owning chickens. The only good news is that her cataracts were just that. I saw no signs of tumors or liver spots or any irreg organs.

Our dear little Digger:

To make matters worse, the hawks have been terrible this week. After multiple attacks, I am missing my Cream Crested Legbar today. Yes, I complained about her hideous photos and evil-eyed glares, but I still wanted her. I spent 5 months growing her up and never even got an egg. Her comb all of sudden grew bigger & darker, so there was a chance she was about to lay. We searched this evening when I noticed her missing but had to give up when it got dark. She's pretty good at hoping fences, so there's a small possibility she's just lost. We have a lot of owls this year - on top of the other 4-legged, nighttime predators. I can't say I'm optimistic about finding her in the morning.


So, we lost 2 birds in 2 days. I'm feeling very low right now.

My good news: (Trying to remind myself that life's not always sad.)
The kids did well on their report cards and Parent/teacher conferences went smoothly. DD's play is tomorrow and the last football game (for the band members) is tonight, so my driving schedule should calm down a little.

Also Coge's eggs may hatch at any time this weekend. That will at least cheer DS up.

 

[Molpet]

Hello all my friends

Night before last was a very bad night here. Sadly.

Unfortunately after months of being in the hardware cloth sided tractors that have always been safe we had what appears to have been a mink attack. The first one in as long as I can remember.

It was storming out(its usually raining when they attack from our experiences probably because they're semi-aquatic). After the storm we went out about 9 pm to lock up and do bed check chores.

Unfortunately the mink found a small crack the birds had made under the tractor even though we move them regularly. The tractor it got into was housing several juvenile chickens, my favorite rooster Buddy, and all of this year's juvenile turkeys.

There was still a turkey in the death throes when we got out there. 7 turkeys and 2 chickens all gone. Only one of this year's poults survived the attack.

Unfortunately the turkeys lost included the two calicos from this year.

The worst is that we were planning to empty the tractors out the next night as we had to postpone due to the rain.

DH has found some more slates to replace those we lost. If anyone has spare calico jennies please let me know.

So sorry for your loss
I have several calico jennies you are welcome to have. I'm not sure how many there are, maybe 6
But they are broody raised and not tame, oh they roost in trees

 

[Molpet]

I also had a rough week with some losses. Our dear, sweet, blind Digger (silver duckwing OEG) had to be put down. When she developed cataracts in the spring I thought for sure she'd pass due to inability to eat & drink. However, she solved the problem by not abandoning her last chick. Her seeing-eye chick stayed by her side & helped her navigate the world. Digger gained her weight back and even resumed laying eggs. Her bantam group accepted her (& her giant orp daughter acted like a personal body guard if they didn't.)

Over the last week I noticed some bullying of Digger during the evening transition. Her orp baby is starting to grow up (finally) and showing interest in sleeping with the big girls at night. Digger usually slept in a corner by the nest boxes but the broody hens are currently sleeping in there, so Digger got displaced. My guess is either in the morning some one picked a fight with Digger, or perhaps she was sleeping in an area where rodents could have nibbled on her during the night. She was already disabled, so that put a target on her back, & blood can cause other birds to peck/attack. For chickens, any weakness can & will attract predators, so to protect the flock, birds must remove the weakness. Thursday morning, I found my poor, bloody Digger hiding behind the feeder. She was shaking & cold & probably in shock. She couldn't see well enough to avoid attacks. I thought about how difficult the upcoming winter would be on her, and how we already had to carry her around and make sure to not change the arrangement of things. I decided that the wounds were pretty bad and I didn't want to drag things out. I held her for a while and cried before getting up the courage to put her down. Although the logical choice, these decisions are hardest part of owning chickens. The only good news is that her cataracts were just that. I saw no signs of tumors or liver spots or any irreg organs.

Our dear little Digger:View attachment 1943921 View attachment 1943922 View attachment 1943924 View attachment 1943925 View attachment 1943926 View attachment 1943928



To make matters worse, the hawks have been terrible this week. After multiple attacks, I am missing my Cream Crested Legbar today. Yes, I complained about her hideous photos and evil-eyed glares, but I still wanted her. I spent 5 months growing her up and never even got an egg. Her comb all of sudden grew bigger & darker, so there was a chance she was about to lay. We searched this evening when I noticed her missing but had to give up when it got dark. She's pretty good at hoping fences, so there's a small possibility she's just lost. We have a lot of owls this year - on top of the other 4-legged, nighttime predators. I can't say I'm optimistic about finding her in the morning.
View attachment 1943930

So, we lost 2 birds in 2 days. I'm feeling very low right now.

My good news: (Trying to remind myself that life's not always sad.)
The kids did well on their report cards and Parent/teacher conferences went smoothly. DD's play is tomorrow and the last football game (for the band members) is tonight, so my driving schedule should calm down a little.

Also Coge's eggs may hatch at any time this weekend. That will at least cheer DS up.
View attachment 1943934

Wow what is going on.
Sorry for your loss

Hope I am not next, especially with the turkeys in the trees.

 

[chickendreams24]

Hello all my friends

Night before last was a very bad night here. Sadly.

Unfortunately after months of being in the hardware cloth sided tractors that have always been safe we had what appears to have been a mink attack. The first one in as long as I can remember.

It was storming out(its usually raining when they attack from our experiences probably because they're semi-aquatic). After the storm we went out about 9 pm to lock up and do bed check chores.

Unfortunately the mink found a small crack the birds had made under the tractor even though we move them regularly. The tractor it got into was housing several juvenile chickens, my favorite rooster Buddy, and all of this year's juvenile turkeys.

There was still a turkey in the death throes when we got out there. 7 turkeys and 2 chickens all gone. Only one of this year's poults survived the attack.

Unfortunately the turkeys lost included the two calicos from this year.

The worst is that we were planning to empty the tractors out the next night as we had to postpone due to the rain.

DH has found some more slates to replace those we lost, although I'm not sure if we'll buy them or not. If anyone has spare calico jennies please let me know.

Not dear Buddy & "Chrissy" (the preschool poult who turned out to be a Christopher).

Remember this?

Although Buddy was golden, it was his golden personality that we all adored. He will be missed.

Oh goodness I suppose I should have read through my message a bit better. I didn't mean to make you think. Well oops. Buddy survived the attack which is a Godsend.

Sometimes it's the small miracles. Perhaps if we hadn't gone out when we did we may have lost more birds. As I stated one of the slates was still in the death throes when we went out and found them.

We never got a look at the predator(suspected mink or weasel) the other night but we know we have mink because we've struggled with attacks from one on and off for years. Never had a shot at it or it would be going to get tanned with the two foxes we got.

As we moved them when I picked Buddy up out of the tractor he was clearly spooked and struggled a bit. You know my Buddy, he never struggles. I just clung to him as the tears streamed down my face. It wasn't until we were back in the house that the sobs ripped through my body. The two cockerals we lost were not keepers as far as I know. To be honest we haven't dealt with the bodies yet DH has been in the fields and I haven't had the heart. It's supposed to rain tomorrow so we will be able to finish grabbing the ones I didn't remove from the tractor that night.

I will be opening all the turkeys just to be sure it isn't black head but that said they were perfectly fine that morning and afternoon. There were some pulled feathers and looking like some very small bruising and punctures visible to some of their necks. Since most of the turkeys were larger than the chickens in there I was surprised they were the ones mostly attacked. I'm wondering if they were easier targets because of the lack of feathers on their necks.

Hugs going out to you. Minks are the worst. One got all 18 of my new babies last year. I was devastated.

Thank you so much.

This was bad really bad to lose almost an entire year's worth of work in one night. I feel horrible for the one lone juvenile turkey although she does fine with the chickens it's not the same. She cried just a tiny bit when we put her in the coop the other night calling for the turkeys.

Our previous mink attacks have almost all been 1 bird a night at most 2-3 and that's only if we interrupted it and took the bird it killed and it came back and grabbed another one. We watched our mink pick up and try to carry off a mature rooster it killed a year or two ago. We had tied the bird to a bolt sticking out of a foundation to try and get a shot at the mink. We never got the shot but it was very very odd because our mink didn't follow the normal rules.

This was a problem when we had some birds that went wild and slept outside or when we had a pen that we later found out had effect mink sized gaps. (the building that housed that pen is now gone and the pen was removed and burned as the lower boards had rotted.) We hadn't used that pen all year anyways.

Now we've had predators kill and pull birds through the chicken wire in our smaller tractor that we used for our quail. In fact we stopped using that this summer after a couple losses. Including two juvenile turkey poults but that has been a long time ago now and we weren't sure if it was a predator that killed those poults or cocci. We moved the birds and treated and had no more losses. Only one confirmed predator kill in the little tractor this spring a bird had its head pulled off.

But the one that was invaded night before last was hardware cloth. The only explanation is a tiny gap beneath on part of the wall dug by the chickens as they scratched.

I've really grown to hate minks how can something so cute be so awful.

I'm just feeling very grateful that a couple weeks ago when one of the rabbit hutches was accidentally left open and our black doe(and favorite rabbit) was left out all night. She thankfully it would seem stayed in the garage despite the garage door being open the whole time. Thankfully nothing went in and got her.

On top of this we also have turkey jenny that has been out every morning for several days. I haven't been able to find the nest. She definitely seems broody. So I'm worried about her. She is also the mother of the one surviving jenny from this spring and our second bloodline of blue slates so both of them are very important.

And a broody in the garage as well.

 

[chickendreams24]

@Faraday40 I'm so so terribly sorry about your Digger and CL pullet. Digger was such a beautiful little hen and your legbar was a pretty girl.

Unfortunately we also lost all of the pullets from the new bloodline of CL we added this year so we have cockerals but no pullets. However our little HeiHei aka our white sport legbar pullet from this year is thriving(she was in the backside of the coop not the tractor) and I still have her parents although I don't know who mothered her. We will add more from the same breeder next spring. We also have cockerals still from that line-note they were pullet eggs.

So lots of good and bad.

A lot of bird losses this year as well.

 

[chickendreams24]

So sorry for your loss
I have several calico jennies you are welcome to have. I'm not sure how many there are, maybe 6
But they are broody raised and not tame, oh they roost in trees

Oh WOW thank you!

That would be so awesome I would really love another couple as back ups for my lone calico jenny I have right now.

Unfortunately little Christmas (we couldn't make ourselves call him little Chrissy) was in the tractor and so was the juvenile calico jenny.

I wonder if we locked them in our coop if they would get the idea. We had some guineas we got grown once do that.

I would just hate for them to teach our turkeys that don't get in our ample trees to roost in trees.