Investing More In American Dominiques

[hellbender]

For your stated use above, my criteria have no purpose.

For that we shall disagree but thank you for the response.

RON

 

[centrarchid]

I lost six birds in 2015 to Great-horned Owls. A couple of birds were "lost" more than once. Today kids and I went out to plant Paw-Paw seeds. I found remains of three of those birds. All sights were down hill of kill sight. The down hill part held up even when owl had a couple nights to feed on carcass before beating my tie-downs.

 

[centrarchid]

This morning we are supposed to get 1-3" of snow. Some is coming down as freezing rain and is sticking to deer netting covers well inside the barn. It more of a freezing mist. I think the setup will be able to handle the load but it shows how far the mist comes in when you have a breeze. This means the feed storage needs to be caefully covered throughout the barn. Challenges are not limited to songbirds and rodents.

 

[centrarchid]

Tonight I policed up the last of the late hatch game stags. They were getting ready to go battle royal on me. As I approached barn I could here a lot of additional activity and all adult birds where preening a lot. Roosters also crowing a lot. Warm temperatures combined with moonlight and increasing photoperiod is causing major changes. This is the time harems setup for real.

 

[centrarchid]

I am starting to have a little trouble with the confined American Dominique flocks. Feather picking directed at rooster by hens is under way. In response I am stepping up protein levels in feed. I very much got lazy using the free-range approach where either they got more protein via forage or had more distractions. Hay will go in this week. Games under same conditions are not doing the feather picking bit.

 

[centrarchid]

I started cleaning barn getting ready for production season configuration and made some disturbing observations. Starlings appear have been either roosting or loafing inside my rider lawn mowers. Feces was piled up in engine areas, under seats, and the blade decks under the actual carriages. Mice chewed wiring to one mower rendering it unable to start. The mice were attracted to feed storage area which will be upgraded. I may also invest in a barn cat as means of keeping starlings out. I would not be surprised if the barn has 200 lbs of starling feces in it even though there was at most 300 of the little guys in it at a time. They clearly put a dent in my feed.

 

[aart]

I started cleaning barn getting ready for production season configuration and made some disturbing observations. Starlings appear have been either roosting or loafing inside my rider lawn mowers. Feces was piled up in engine areas, under seats, and the blade decks under the actual carriages. Mice chewed wiring to one mower rendering it unable to start. The mice were attracted to feed storage area which will be upgraded. I may also invest in a barn cat as means of keeping starlings out. I would not be surprised if the barn has 200 lbs of starling feces in it even though there was at most 300 of the little guys in it at a time. They clearly put a dent in my feed.

That stinks!! .....both figuratively and probably literally too.

 

[Mrs. K]

We had them get into a horse trailer and the mess was beyond belief.

 

[centrarchid]

Toads are on the move. The electrified poultry netting fried at least half a dozen. Also a game stag got into it trying to get at hens on other side. He got damaged. Idiot appears to have tried to fly through fencing at high speed and zapped a lot before being able to back out. He was exhausted from the encounter but was back to form a couple hours later. His comb appears to have gotten hung for a bit.

 

[centrarchid]

The poultry netting is causing a problem I did not anticipate. It is killing not only frogs, it is killing Snapping Turtles and Three-toed Box Terrapins. I will need to explore using a lower output fence charger.