Lavender Orpington project ....

[lildinkem]

Quote:

I agree completely. And I love the Holy Grail reference. Good point. I mean, we know it is out there, someone found it... so who knows maybe we can find a purple chicken someday if we don't find the chocolate first!!!!!

I was only crossing for meat chickens. I wanted to see what i would get. It sure isn't meaty but it is a roo so I can use it to play somemore. The other ones are in the freezer now, so it isn't as if it was a wasted project.

I think most all that went into my mutt is a single pattern gene. In your case you may come up with a cool looking Choc Cuckoo. I bet that would be a hot item for a while.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

It is a cuckoo with funny colors!

 

[lildinkem]

Boy I am really sorry to hear that Germaine. My guy I guess felt he would be pushing his luck if he hung out and slaughtered anymore. I have 8 dogs now, put one done two nites ago, and you would think that would discourage him. Since the sliding glass door stays open 24/7, I have no more foxes, coons, or anything else on 4 feet. My Fox issues all happened when it was still cold and snow on the ground

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
Should be a fun project.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
I would love to let my dog roam but I live close to a major hwy. 65 mph traffic. The other side is nothing but miles and miles of open range. Guess where all my cats and dogs go when they aren't supervised? Yep the hwy.

I saw a dead fox across the road about 3 weeks ago so they must be all over. To make matters worse, lightning stuck here at noon the other day and started a 5000 acre burn. Fire trucks came here to help protect the house, and luckily the wind shifted and blew it back onto itself. But now all the cover is gone for them out there I am worried they will move closer to the house...

 

[Cetawin]

Germaine...put some traps out nightly....Just keep them set because the critters will come calling after a burn like that.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Where do I get traps and how do I use them or learn to use them! Lady Hawk-- LOL I hate things that snap! But I will. I can't even open a can of biscuits because I hate that loud pop. Must be a childhood phobia....

 

[Cetawin]

Tractor supply, Southern States, etc etc.

They are live traps and not hard to set at all...you should not hear it snap unless you are outside in the middle of the night. You can bait them with cat food, tuna, marshmellows, meat etc etc. Then in the morning the critter is in the trap alive...you dispose of it...shoot it, drown it, stab it whatever is necesary.

You can see them here (pictures) they have them from small rodent sized up to coyote sized...TSC has that set up of two traps for $30- $40

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=563271

when the critter walks in after the bait...the trap springs closed and critter is stuck in there.

I do not like leg traps unless it is a bear...the animals will chew their foot off and wander off. Then I have to track them down and dispatch them to an avoid them dying slowly. Even a predator has a right to a quick dispatch if at all possible, IMHO.

There are instructions for setting them on or in the box usually...but they are not hard.

 

[Cetawin]

I should add...if a you catch skunk...throw an old blanket over the entire trap from a distance. That sucker will get you...or shoot it from a distance while it is in the trap.

If you know you have a skunk you are after...slide the trap into a large leaf garbage bag that you leave open on the end...then just come up behind the trap reach over and close the bag and pick it up. Sad to say but skunks get drowned around here unless I can safely shoot them from a distance with no house and such behind me...I just carry the bag a pond, drum filled with water etc and open the bag and drop the trap in letting it sink...

Sounds cruel but no more cruel than what they would do to my birds.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Ohhhhhhh Thanks Lady Hawk, But I have two of those and they don't work. Won't catch anything at all. I even put a freshly dead chicken (the blue Orp) in it and set it by the den hole. No takers.

I have been told to let leg traps but the directions look complicated. I also worry about any local animals finding their way into them. My three stupid cats set off all the live traps and now the trapper the DH hired won't come back until I get rid of them. So I set them myself but still get nothing.